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AFP: Internet body approves domain name big bang

PARIS (AFP) — Web regulators Thursday voted to allow the creation of thousands of new domain names, from .paris to .Pepsi, in one of the biggest shake-ups in Internet history, a French web official said.

The overhaul is expected to radically change the way users navigate the Internet and has major implications for businesses and consumers worldwide.

Currently all web addresses fall under one of some 250 top-level domain names: .country or .territory domains, and generic ones such as .com, .net and .org, .gov, and .edu.

Under the new system, the web’s 1.3 billion users would be able from 2009 to buy an unlimited number of generic addresses based on common words, brands or company names, cities or proper names.

Broad product groups such as .bank or .car are also likely contenders, while the pornography industry is angling for the creation of a .xxx domain for adult sites.

Cities could benefit too from this liberalisation, with the German capital hoping for .berlin or New York for .nyc.

And everyone will still want a .com domain.