Issue 190 - 23rd June 2005

NetNames one of first accredited registrars for .eu

EURid, the registry operator for the forthcoming .eu domain, has begun accrediting registrars. NetNames is delighted to be one of the very first accredited registrars for .eu.

NetNames believes there is huge market potential for .eu and consequently a great deal of interest is expected. The first sunrise period (this is an opportunity for public bodies and  trademark holders to secure their domain name) is currently scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.

NetNames plans to begin taking orders for sunrise applications and pre-registrations shortly. Announcements will be made via N3 Lite and our sister site www.gtld.com.

Please go to www.gtld.com for more details about eligibility requirements, sunrise periods and proposed timescales.

Latest update on .vn (Vietnam)

N3 Lite previously advised that .vn domains secured during the sunrise period at the start of the year would go live sometime in June. It is increasingly looking as if this will not occur until July. We will keep you updated.

Launch of .pk (Pakistan) sunrise period

The Pakistan Registry has confirmed that the sunrise period for second-level .pk trademark domains will start on 15th July 2005, lasting until 15th September. This will be followed by open registration without trademark restrictions. To make a sunrise application for .pk, please go to www.netnames.com.

Extension of .tw (Taiwan) 'grandfathering' period

It is expected that the availability of second-level .tw domains will be extended to outside China on or around 1st September. A requirement for registration at the second level will be to have already registered the equivalent domain at the third level, which is unrestricted. It is likely that the 'grandfathering' period for registration of third-level .tw domains will be extended till 15th July. To register .com.tw, .idv.tw or .org.tw, go to www.netnames.com.

Launch of .gr (Greece) IDNs

From 4th July, Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) will be made available in Greek characters for the following .gr suffixes: 

.gr 
.com.gr 
.net.gr 
.org.gr 

To register .gr IDNs, please go to www.netnames.com.