A new domain for aerospace and aviation businesses

On 16 November 2000, the authority that governs the domain name system approved seven new top-level domain names, meaning that in addition to domain names ending ".com," ".net" and ".org" it will soon be possible to register domains with the following suffixes :

Of particular interest to the aviation and aerospace industries is the domain name .aero. When the .aero domain is open for registration (expected to be later this year) there is likely to be competition to register the available names.

As each domain name is unique, if you already have a website with a .com and/or .co.uk suffix you may want to register the .aero version of the same name in order to prevent anyone else f rom registering that name, as well as to maximise the publicity of your website. Alternatively if you are launching new products you may wish to register new domain names using the .aero suffix.

Beware of offers to pre - register this domain. A number of "scam artists" are offering to pre - register the new domain names, usually for an upfront fee with the promise that registrations will receive pre f e rential treatment. Whilst a timetable was recently announced for the registration of .info and .biz domains, no one has yet received authority to "pre - register" the .aero domain. Those who seek to register the .aero domain in advance there f o re currently do so at their own risk with no assurance that they will receive the pre - registered names once they become operational.

The ICANN Board of Directors has selected SITA (Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques SC) as the body responsible for getting the new .aero domain up and running. If you are waiting to register a domain name, visit ICANN's website.

Registration will be restricted to legitimate members of the air transport and aviation sector, such as airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers and their related industry and government bodies.