Asia domain launched

The .asia domain name has been officially made available today and is expected to be in high demand, it has been reported.

Both governments and large companies are expected to scramble to devise their own .asia names. And in February 2008 the domain name will be opened to the general public. During this period, if there is more than one application for the same domain name an auction will be held.

Lesley Cowley, chief executive of .uk registry Nominet, told the BBC: "There is going to be an ever-increasing number of suffixes. "Companies need to decide whether they are going to protect their registered marks in each and every one." Currently the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is looking into devising domain names in non-Latin characters.

Based in Marina Del Rey, California, ICANN is the body in charge of regulating domain names and IP addresses.