THE internet is set to be revolutionised, following a decision to allow the creation of easy-to-remember domain names.
Under the new plans, which were agreed yesterday in Paris, a domain name, the suffix at the end of a website address, can now be based on any string of letters.
This will allow individuals to register a domain based on their own name, for example,
as long as they can show a "business plan and technical capacity".
The result could be the creation of thousands or even millions of new addresses.
The decision was taken by the net's regulator, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Incann).
At the moment, the top-level domain addresses are limited to ones such as .uk, .com and .net.
The new system means Scotland could gain its own suffix address in the form of .sco, while cities such as London and New York will have .ldn and .nyc respectively.
New names will not appear for at least several months, as Incann still has to work out the details, including fees for obtaining new names.
The streamlined guidelines call for all applicants to go through an initial review phase, during which anyone may raise an objection on such grounds as racism, trademark conflicts and similarity to an existing suffix.
If no objection is raised, approval would come quickly.
The full article contains 231 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
