'Me' domain names available to all

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 16-Jul-08, 15:25

LONDON - Registering for a ".me" domain name will be open to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis tomorrow from 4pm, with the company selling the rights hoping for a rush of bloggers to take up the address.

Originally, the domain was assigned to Montenegro after it gained its independence in June 2006. However, because of the potential worldwide appeal the name has, the government of Montenegro decided ".me" would be operated as a generic name space.

UK domain registration company LCN has managed the process, which begin in May when the "sunrise" period for trademark holders began. In June, "landrush" -- the period in which the general public register before a domain goes live -- began.

In total, more than 30,000 domains have already been registered and auctions for competing applications are now taking place.

When open registrations start tomorrow, new domains registered will go live within minutes, enabling anyone in the world to launch a site that is all about them immediately.

Predrag Lesic, the .ME Registry's executive director, said: "We were excited to see the innovative and catchy new domain names that were registered during landrush and now this brand new top level domain is open to anyone on a first-come, first-served basis."

Mark Boost, managing director of LCN, said: "The possibilities for .me as a domain name are endless. Individuals who are looking to register .me domain names to secure their own personal email address, such as john@smith.me will now be able to do so.

"Businesses will be quick to snap up those of real commercial value, but we're also anticipating a huge interest from bloggers who want to personalise their websites and make a real statement."