Hostway News & Events

Hostway warns businesses to register for .Asia domain names as Landrush begins

Final phase means that floodgates are now open to anyone wishing to register for .Asia domain name

London, 19th February 2008 - Following the opening of the landrush period for the new .Asia domain today, Hostway is advising companies that general registration is now possible. Companies and other individuals who do not act quickly to protect their brand identity risk losing the domain name to other companies or cybersquatters. The landrush period allows all businesses and general public to register for the .Asia domain name of their choice, and runs from February 20th to March 12th.

“The .Asia landrush has now begun, and registration for the .Asia domain name is now open to all individuals and companies, regardless of whether or not they have a valid claim to it. It’s crucial that companies realise just how important it is to register for their .Asia domain name if they wish to take advantage of this opportunity now or in the future,” said Thomas Herbert, product manager, Hostway. “With global brands such as Google investing strongly in this area – exemplified by its acquisition of a stake in Chinese social networking site Tianya – the Asian market is seeing significant potential for growth at the moment.”

“As the largest top-level domain name release for several years, companies are faced with both an opportunity and a challenge - anyone who hasn’t yet registered shouldn’t waste any more time - acquiring a .Asia address is as easy as picking up the phone,” continued Herbert. “The cost is minimal especially when you compare it to the cost of not registering. Companies who don’t register for their domain name are effectively gambling with their brand identity, and they could be risking expensive and unnecessary cybersquatting cases.”

With 60% of the world population living in the Asia-Pacific region, and over 400 million Internet users, companies may be risking their pan-Asian brand identity if they fail to register for their domain name. This can result in the undermining of company trademarks and the expensive re-acquisition of the name later on.

“People do need to beware of unofficial vendors offering registrations as they could miss out, or be ripped off. This is a great opportunity for people to establish their presence as a global entity, but as with any transaction online, people need to make sure that the supplier on the other end is authentic,” concluded Herbert.

During the landrush period the .Asia registry will consider all domain name registration applications as received at the same time. In the case of one of more applicants applying for the same domain name, each applicant will be invited to bid against each other in an auction. Domain names with only one application will be awarded to the applicant. After a short break to process applications, the live registration period will begin again on the 26th of March where registrations will be considered on a first-come-first-served basis.

Further information can be found on Hostway’s website at: www.hostway.co.uk/dotasia

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