Companies, institutions and citizens will be able to use .eu in internet addresses starting at the beginning of 2006, the European Union executive arm said on Thursday.
”The final countdown to the advent of Europes own ‘.eu’ internet identity, by the end of 2005, has begun,” the commission said in a statement.
A domain name is a simple way for a computer or network to be identified on the internet. The most common endings — or top level domains — are the .com, .int or .net familiar to most internet users.
The commission said that .eu was not intended to replace existing endings in the EU such as those specific for countries such as .fr for France or .be for Belgium.
A spokesperson said that one big advantage of having an EU-wide top level domain was that it would allow disputes to be settled in the European Union at the European Court of Justice whereas users of the existing .com, for instance, have to settle disputes in Virginia even if they are in Europe.
Starting in the last quarter of this year, public institutions and trademark holders such as companies, can start registering their .eu address.
At the beginning of 2006, other companies and individuals can then lay claim to .eu internet addresses.
The early registration period is aimed at discouraging so-called ”cybersquatting” or when an individual stakes a claim to an address that a company is likely to want to have so that it has to be bought at a hefty price.
The commission warned against some companies offering to pre-registered addresses.
”Given a risk of confusion and even fraud, use of ‘pre-registration’ services is not recommended by the commission,” it said. – Sapa-AFP