New gTLD Overview
Soon, the Internet will change in a major way. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the non-profit organization that oversees the Internets domain name system, plans to open it’s doors to new gTLD (generic top-level domain) applications.
Currently there are 21 gTLDs in use on the Internet today. A Top-level domain is what Internet users are accustomed to seeing on the right-most side of a domain name, for example, .com, .net, and .org.
The introduction of new gTLDs will add a wide variety of new extensions for consumers to choose from. We expect a steady stream of innovation to take place in the next few years as the new gTLD program takes off. The information below should give you an idea of what is to come.
| Expansion Period | Top-Level Domains |
|---|---|
| Original gTLDs (Prior to 1998) | .com .net .edu .gov .int .mil .org .arpa |
| 1st gTLD Expansion (2000) | .aero .biz .coop .info .museum .name .pro |
| 2nd gTLD Expansion (2004) | .asia .cat .jobs .mobi .tel .travel |
| Open Expansion (from 2010) | .blog .eco .music .paris .brand … Countless Possibilities |
ICANN approved a resolution to allow IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names). These country specific ccTLDs will be available in 2010, through ICANNs fast-track program.
| Extensions | Example Domain | |
|---|---|---|
| Currently | .jp .hk .cn .ru | http:// gonbei.jp or http://urbanbrain.jp/ |
| After 2010 | .日本 .香港 .中国 .РФ | http://ゴンベエ.日本/ or http://株式会社.UrbanBrain/ |
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