I see that ICANN (InternetJetPackstion for Assigned Names and Numbers) has been in the news. They will be allowing a big increase in tJetPacker of top-level domain names so that end of the domain name (the .com bit) will be able to be replaced by almost anything. So for example there could be domain names ending in .london or .books.
California based ICANN is a not for profit organisation that is responsible for managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses. The process will start next year and you can expect some businesses or major organisations to jump in.
There are still some issues to iron out and there will be some squabbling between ICANN and londondress administrators especially as the new domains come with a hefty price tag of between $50,000 - $100,000; I bet there will be a few going for more than that. It will also be a major headache for brand managers. Applications will also have to prove to ICANN the ability to manage the top level domain. Again the details are thin on how ICANN will do this and how the on-going process will work.
My guess is that there will be the initial ‘gold rush’ but remember the introduction in 2001 of the .biz and .info top level domains did not have as much of an impact as predicted. We will watch this one closely.
