Dot London domain launches for city’s businesses to stake claim
LONDON’S own dedicated web address .London launches today at 4pm when registration for the new domain name opens for Londoners.
From today the first .London websites will start to go live, marking the start of a three month period during which London’s businesses and individuals with registered trademarks can buy .London domains before anyone else.
“We want Dot London to become the internet address of choice for businesses and individuals with a connection to the capital,” said Alex Kinchin-Smith, director of Dot London, the not-for-profit group set up to promote the new domain.
“Up until now a domain name has been able to show that you’re located in England or somewhere in the UK, but not actually in London,” Ben Crawford, chief executive of domain registrar CentralNic, told City A.M.
“It’ll help search engines and customers to be able to distinguish which suppliers to choose.”
Today’s launch comes as part of a wave of over 1,700 new top-level domains, such as .ninja and .flowers, being unleashed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – the body that maintains domain names.
“With a whole host of new web extensions currently launching on the internet, .London is certainly one of the most anticipated arrivals – where businesses, organisations and individuals who want to associate themselves more closely with London online will soon have the opportunity to do so,” said Deloitte partner Jan Corstens.