DotAsia to Support Asian New gTLDs

Launch of Chinese, Japanese and Korean ".Asia" IDN Continues 

Priority Sunrise Registration Period Closes: July 25 2011

Open Landrush Registration Begins: August 2, 2011

HONG KONG, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Following the approval from ICANN for the implementation of the new gTLD (Generic Top-Level Domain) program, DotAsia today announces its plans to support new gTLDs from Asia, including its own IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) TLDs and applications from other Asian new gTLD applicants.

"As one of the latest new gTLDs, and as a not-for-profit organization with a core mandate to promote Internet development and adoption, DotAsia is well equipped to provide support to new gTLD aspirants from Asia.  We believe our experience and understanding in the ICANN process, policies, technology and market will help Asian new gTLDs become successful," says Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia.  "Domain names are analogous to Internet real-estate, and this opening of new gTLDs is like a watershed deregulation.  We are prepared to lend our expertise to assist Asian initiatives so Asia does not lose out on this 'land grab'.  Domains is also an important Internet resource supporting development, especially considering the introduction of Asian language IDN gTLDs."

DotAsia is planning to offer support to new gTLD applicants from Asia, assisting in the application process, policy and community development, finance and other aspects of creating and operating a for-profit or a community gTLD.  Interested parties are welcome to inquire further at: info@ngtld.asia.

Meanwhile, building on the successful launch of alphanumeric (ASCII) ".Asia" registrations, Sunrise (i.e. Priority Registration) for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internationalized Domain Name (IDN -- web address represented in local languages) continues with a similar phased approach to ensure orderly introduction of IDN ".Asia" domains. Sunrise (http://www.idn.asia) and the Pioneer Domains Program (http://pioneer.domains.asia), opened on May 11, will close on July 25, 2011.

"IDNs will change the perceived value of domain names in Asia as businesses discover the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) value of domains.  Hundreds of millions of Chinese, Japanese and Korean users are actively searching online in their native language. IDN realizes the SEO value by making it possible to have a domain name matching what users are searching for, thereby improving the ranking of your website," added Chung.