June 23, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (icann.org), the non-profit organization that oversees the Internet's top-level domains, will decide this week on whether to offer endless variations on domain addresses, according to a report by IT PRO (itpro.co.uk).
Opening its annual general meeting Monday in Paris, France, the ICANN is expected to vote in favor of the new domains this week.
The proposal would allow companies to purchase new generic top-level domains with nearly any ending they desired.
"Apart from the .com, .net or .org, the 1.3 billion web users will be able from early 2009 to acquire generic addresses by lodging common words such as .love, .hate or .city or proper names," ICANN president Dr. Paul Twomey told French newspaper Les Echos.
Online auctioneer site eBay (ebay.com) is among the contendors to use its name, .ebay, while major cities including New York and Berlin are petitioning to also use their own domains.
Last year, ICAAN estimated that a mere 17 percent of the original four billion domain addresses are still available, while those remaining domain addresses are predicted to be occupied within the next five years.
If the policy is passed, the new domains would be available to companies starting early next year.
While the application fee for the proposed domain names has not been decided, insiders say the cost could range anywhere from £19,700 to £197,000, making them too costly for most consumers and potential cyber squatters.
In addition to the new domain names, ICANN will also vote on implementing its provision which would apply a non-refundable 20 cent per-transaction ICANN fee to domain names deleted during the Add Grace Period.
Last week, domain registrar and web hosting provider NaviSite publicly supported the anti-domain tasting provision.
More than 1,300 delegates from 130 countries have gathered at the annual meeting, which wraps up this Friday.
