Issue 116 - 1st May

New Zealand government pays US$500,000 for domain name

The New Zealand Government has this week confirmed it paid US$500,000 (NZ$910,580) for the domain name NewZealand.com.

Tourism Minister Mark Burton said it would provide an invaluable portal for those interested in New Zealand tourism, commerce or industry.

NewZealand.com was bought by New Zealand Way Ltd, which is owned by the Tourism Board, TradeNZ and Industry New Zealand.

This is not the first time a country name as a .com domain has demanded such a high price. The South African Government has previously offered US$10 million for SouthAfrica.com and Korea.com was sold for US$5 million.

.pro domain name nears launch

The next ICANN approved Top Level Domain to be launched is .pro, which is expected to go live in July 2003.

.pro will be restricted to professionals such as lawyers, doctors and accountants. It is being promoted as a secure and verifiable domain name that will enable professionals to communicate and transact in a secure environment.

Initially .pro is being made available at the third level only, under these profession specific suffixes:
· .law.pro
· .med.pro
· .cpa.pro (for US certified professional accountants)

If you require further information on the .pro domain, please contact sales@netnames.com

INTA 125th Annual Meeting - Starts this weekend

Don't forget the 125th Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA) is taking place next week. It runs from May 3 - 7, 2003 at the RAI International Exhibition & Congress Centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

NetNames will be exhibiting at booth number B9. If you are attending the event, please contact us to set up a meeting time or feel free to drop by the NetNames booth at any time.

Event information is available at www.inta.org