26th
The organization that oversees Internet addresses on Thursday approved a proposal to create an unlimited number of so-called top-level domains — the familiar suffixes like “.com” at the end of Web addresses.
Under the plan, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will allow organizations to apply for any top-level domain. Businesses, for example, could use brand names such as “.ibm” or “.ebay” in their Web addresses. Cities could sign up for names like “.nyc” or “.berlin.” It will also be possible to apply to use more general terms, such as “.news” or “.sports,” to define sites associated with groups or categories of information.
ICANN, a nonprofit group that acts as regulator for the Internet, expects the change to spur the creation of many more Web sites — and to allow individuals and organizations to express their identities in useful new ways.
“This is the biggest change to the way people find each other on the Internet since its inception,” said Paul Twomey, ICANN’s president and chief executive officer. Registering a new top-level domain will cost somewhere between $100,000 and $500,000, the group said.