It's .me .me. .me in domain name sell-off

Posted on 7 May 2008 at 09:40

Montenegro is seeking to ape the Pacific islands of Tuvalu and cash in on the appeal of its top-level internet domain.

The Balkan state was awarded the .me domain after independence from Serbia in 2006. The country decided to capitalise on .me's obvious appeal by removing geographic restrictions on name ownership, save a few domains reserved for government and the tourist industry.

Thomas Barrett, president of domain registrar EnCirca said that .Me will prove to be a great way for companies and individuals to differentiate themselves online.

".Me elevates the social networking craze to a new level, as .Me offers real personalisation of domains. For instance, why not register follow.me for the born leader? Or perhaps, listento.me for the incessant blogger?"

Registrations begin today at encirca.com/ with the "sunrise period" for trademark owners until 28 June. Anyone with a current trademark or service mark can apply for the respective domain until that date, after which the .me domain will be available to allcomers.

But not all names will be available. Montenegro and EnCirca have ensured that .me does not run into the same problems as .me.uk by banning the registration of domains such as blow.me.

They have also reserved addresses such as restaurant.me that may attract a premium in auction. Auctions will take place where more than one applicant requests the same domain.

Restricted domains are listed in .Me Reserved and Premium Names.

Tuvalu famously tried to raise $50 million form its .tv domain, though initial efforts fell short.

Author: Simon Aughton

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