.涓浗 domain to become available soon in China

By Lin Jiasi

Companies in China will soon have a new opportunity to build their brand names over the Internet after the domain name ".中国" in Chinese characters (Zhong Guo) goes online.

China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) announced that the domain, which means China, will allow any company to register a duplicate website name with ".中国." The center was founded as a non-profit organization in 1997 and it's under the guide of the Ministry of Information Industry.

The registration process could take just a day and cost 100 yuan ($14) to create a new website name that ends with the new domain, Hu Yanping, spokesman for the CNNIC, told the Global Times Wednesday.

The new system will be launched November 16, allowing companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises to use the new platform to expand their domestic social networks through the Internet.

Companies or individuals registering their names with ".中国" will be able to duplicate any existing web address, but must take legal responsibility for potential copyright claims.

Hu explained that due to the fact that companies cannot share a same website name under the same domain, such as ".com" or ".net", with a newly added one, it provides a new option for online companies to use a same website name with a different domain.

"Although the change of a domain name does not have a significant impact on China's Internet development, it will provide more opportunities for brand building and promote efficient electronic commerce in the market," said Hu.

For now, the new domain name is only available on the Chinese mainland, but experts predicted it would become available worldwide.

Not all companies might rush to register with the new domain.

Video website Youku said it is not necessary to have a new domain in Chinese because most users already know the website's name, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

"Youku.com in Chinese characters was previously registered, but not by us, unfortunately," the newspaper quoted Youkou as saying.

"We plan to purchase it from the current owner if at a reasonable price."

The CNNIC reported that there were 350 million online users in China in the first half of 2009 while Internet mobile users number 150 million.

Explore the World, Understand China!
Please log on www.gloaltimes.cn