IDN.Asia

.ASIA IDN Landrush end time extended to Oct 29, 2011, 24:00UTC

2011-10-04T08:00:31Z

The .ASIA IDN Landrush end time has been extended to Oct 29, 2011, 24:00UTC.

Based on feedback from registrars - especially in the Chinese community, due to the long national holidays just prior to the original scheduled close of the .ASIA CJK IDN Landrush on Oct 11, the Landrush period will remain open for an additional 18 days.

Please also check out landrush.asia to submit your .ASIA IDN Landrush applications.

DotAsia Launches Landush.Asia to Promote Adoption of Native Language Domain Names in Asia

2011-09-16T04:51:12Z

Download: [ EN PDF | ZH-繁 PDF ]

Hong Kong, 16 September 2011 - The DotAsia Organisation is proud to announce the launch of Landrush.Asia (http://www.landrush.asia), a platform where potential registrants can apply for their ".Asia" IDN directly. They can select from a list of participating registrars on the site and then apply for the best Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) before it opens up for first-come-first-served registrations.

"Landrush.Asia is an effort from DotAsia to help registrants from Asia and registrars around the world to offer first in line registrations for Chinese, Japanese and Korean '.Asia' domain names," says Edmon Chung, CEO of the DotAsia Organisation says, "DotAsia is committed to promoting Internet development and adoption in Asia, and native language domain names (i.e. IDN) is an important part of driving accessibility to the hundreds of millions of users coming online in Asia. As both a tool for direct navigation and for enhancing SEO (Search Engine Optimization), IDN also helps businesses around the world to reach the Asian Internet marketplace, where users are actively searching online in their own language."

]]> The ".Asia" IDN domain names has been very well received in Asia, especially in China, with more than half of the close to 10,000 ".Asia" IDNs have already been asked for being Chinese domains. The CJK .Asia IDN Landrush period is open for another month and will close on October 11, 2011. For further inquiries about the Chinese, Japanese and Korean .Asia IDN Landrush, please go to http://www.idn.asia

About DotAsia Organisation

DotAsia Organisation is a regional not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote Internet development and adoption around Asia. DotAsia oversees the ".Asia" top-level Internet domain name, and is formed as an open membership consortium of official domain authorities around the region, including .CN (China), .JP (Japan), .KR (Korea), .IN (India), .NZ (New Zealand), .PH (Philippines), etc., and regional Internet organizations including APNIC, APNG, APCERT, PAN and APTLD. DotAsia has a core mandate towards digital inclusion, education and research and development.

Since the launch of the ".Asia" registry in March 2008, DotAsia has been proactively contributing to the Internet and cultural community in Asia. Today, DotAsia is already supporting many community projects in the region: Relief.Asia (http://www.relief.asia), ISIF.Asia (R&D Grants Fund -- http://www.isif.asia), CreativeCommons.Asia (http://www.creativecommons.asia), OLPC.Asia (One-Laptop-Per-Child Initiative in Asia -- http://www.olpc.asia), DSF.Asia (Digital Solidarity Fund -- http://hk.dsf.asia), OSS.Asia (Open Source Software consortium -- http://www.oss.asia), and NetMission.Asia (youth volunteer program & network -- http://www.netmission.asia)

前瞻網絡發展以亞洲域名開拓更大的世界

2011-08-06T08:39:36Z

尋找傑出男兒系列（二）

前言：是否所有香港男人都是學歷低、經濟能力差、欠主見、無風度、小器的「港男」？港男港女之爭，不過將兩性同時醜化，只是一兩個例子，就以為所有人都一樣，或許剛走過身邊的其實是個「好貨色」。因此，副刊專題版特別走入人群，為大家尋訪一些被忽略了的香港傑出男兒－－他們在不同界別中都自有成就，更重要的是各自闖出自己的路──這也是這個系列告訴大家的。

以前父母總是想孩子讀書畢業後，能成為醫生、律師、建築師等，一來收入高，二來社會地位也高，但隨着社會發展，愈來愈多人投身銀行及金融界，因為可以「賺快錢」，但近年這趨勢又轉了，因為大家都發現資訊科技界是最新的好「歸宿」。不過，很多香港人可能還記得幾年前的「dot com」泡沫潮，令很多人損失慘重──不過這也說明了：大家可以投身，但不要投機！筆者最近認識了香港互聯網協會副主席兼DotAsia行政總裁鍾宏安（Edmon），他可說是「瞓身」於dot com事業之中，更重要的是他不是要從中賺大錢，而是為着一個理想。

]]> 「這次首推.asia的中文、日文及韓文域名，是針對約有20億網絡用戶的亞洲市場，當域名和用戶搜尋的關鍵字相對應時，可大大提升網站於搜尋器中的排名，面對相同的關鍵字，.asia在亞洲區的搜尋器中排名會較.com高，有利企業打入亞洲市場。為免造成不必要的紛爭，註冊會分期進行──5月11日至 7月25日是日出期，企業、品牌、明星可優先註冊保護其域名；8月2日至10月11日是搶灘期，公眾可申請註冊心儀域名......」一說到他現時最大的 project，Edmon就眉飛色舞。

大家可不要將Edmon視為只愛電腦的虛擬世界，沉迷上網玩遊戲，筆者看過資料，發現他是現任香港互聯網協會副主席、ICANN 泛用型域名理事會（GNSO Council）理事、ICANN亞太區互聯網用戶組織（APRALO）秘書長，他是國際化域名（Internationalized Domain Name）及互聯網電郵地址等技術的發明者，取得多項專利。在1999年，他與多倫多大學創新基金合作創立了Neteka公司，在01年獲得加拿大華裔企業家選舉的最具創新精神獎。在02年，他開始參與DotAsia創辦的工作，創立首個在亞洲營運的通用頂級域名，到了06年，他出任DotAsia的行政總裁。

中文域名的生與死

「中文域名的概念始於1999年，當時剛大學畢業，與數名朋友以中文域名的概念創立Neteka，取得多倫多大學創新基金等約百萬加元風險投資，公司短短數個月後便取得突破性發展，隨即更進一步取得相關專利及認可，但由於需要取得國際認可的最終文件，結果卻要等上4年，至2003年才能正式完成。」

「英文域名有相同意思的姓名或字眼，並未受到國家關注，但當用回中文字時，卻特別敏感及引來高度注視。中文域名至今的發展時間尚短，我認為只是起步階段，需要更多時間來推廣。不過，發展亦受到國家文化及語言限制，並不會像英文般能廣泛應用。」

「2000年有公司偷步，開放中文域名註冊，但技術根本未發展成熟，政策層面亦未成熟，結果註冊了，又唔work，當時中文域名的註冊量很驚人，全球有超過一百萬人註冊，可惜用不到，令人對中文域名失去信心，影響中文域名的整個發展速度，到了03年，中文域名國際標準初稿才出台。」

「以前瀏覽器認domain，只能辨認英文字母，認不到中文，要中文域名通行，就要每個軟件都認到中文。03年時只能部分中文如『中文.asia』可用，域名如『中文．中文』則仍未能通用，但現時網絡上的升級已接近完成。」

「中文域名的意義在於，現時我們使用Yahoo、Google等搜尋器，只要域名與關鍵字脗合，搜尋結果排名就會上升，愈多人點擊及搜尋，瀏覽人次就會愈多，愈吸引廣告商。中國人搜尋多數都是用中文，如果可以優化搜尋器引擎，就可以辨識用中文域名。現時不少品牌都想打入中國市場，所以中文域名的潛在價值很高。」

一個域名的價值

但筆者又想起dot com泡沫熱潮時，很多人一窩蜂投資網絡公司，所以亞洲域名會不會是代表另一個......
「相對於英文域名，中文域名炒賣尚在起步階段，我認為，當人們意識到中文域名的價值時，中文域名價值也可能會被推高。至於哪類的中文域名較受歡迎，就要看炒家策略，以往比較短的域名，會比較受歡迎，被搜尋的次數愈高，就愈搶手。域名的價值在於其流量，以及網民對相關關鍵字的搜索率，例如保險、網上購物等，都係熱門搜尋字。」

「一個域名可以有很大經濟價值，但礙於dot asia有很多亞洲國家的政府或相連機構參與，涉及多國政策，從整件事也令我有很深的體會。單是在技術層面，單字符、繁簡體等都是我們需要處理，但又很難解決的問題。」

對於Edmon，發展及推廣亞洲域名是有多重意義的。「這麼多年來，我深深體會到亞洲在網絡發展所扮演的地位，以及國際對重要議題的討論及處理，但同時我更明白一點，就是要自己發聲，要自己去爭取，就以中文域名的發展，如果你不主動，如何可以在以西方為主導的網絡世界中去開發、游說、推廣、實行呢。」

網絡人視網絡為......

其實，Edmon可真的不是一個「宅男」，筆者發現Edmon原來跟《長江7號》、《分手說愛你》等電影有關，真是令人意想不到。

筆者後來知道，由於dot asia推出初期，預留了網址給明星、藝人，所以Edmon也跟娛樂圈有所接觸。他知道亞洲區互聯網的應用，以搜尋娛樂資訊列首位，所以他想到借助音樂、電影來宣傳dot asia。他先以《長江7號》為試點，人們在網站登記，可參與免費電影欣賞會。之後Edmon在機緣巧合下遇到黃珍珍及鄭丹瑞，決定投資開拍電影《分手說愛你》，而電影內容則圍繞互聯網及年輕人的愛情故事，藉以間接推動dot asia發展，並透過網站宣傳電影。

在筆者面前，Edmon有些令人「深不可測」──他很快就洞悉網絡市場的發展，而且積極參與其中，希望令亞洲域名可以真的成事。「網絡快，不代表網絡上發生的事也一樣快。」

演藝界搶先機註冊.asia 域名

2011-08-04T08:37:58Z

香港DotAsia 宣布由昨日起至十月十一日，正式進入「asia」國際化域名的「搶灘期」，甄子丹、舒淇、劉德華等紛紛搶佔先機，註冊其中文名字的「.asia」域名。鑑於藝人名字及電影名稱註冊成商標並不普及，然而他們卻往往成為侵權註冊的對象，因此「域名先鋒計劃」的推出得到演藝界的全力響應。演藝團體包括香港演藝人協會已為旗下會員，如甄子丹、舒淇、成龍、劉德華、郭富城等註冊其中文名字的「.asia」域名。其他機構及其會員，例如香港電影金像獎、香港作曲家及作詞家協會、香港電影導演會、香港電影工作者總會等都已藉着這個計劃，註冊相關的「.asia」中文域名。

DotAsia 機構行政總裁鍾宏安指出：「互聯網正走向國際化域名的世界，中國、日本及韓國數以億萬的用戶，都用自己本土的語言進行網上搜尋。DotAsia機構不單了解國際化域名優化搜尋器的價值，亦致力支持商界及藝人透過『.asia』域名，更親切地接觸其客戶及粉絲。」

Landrush for .Asia IDN Begins Today

2011-08-02T02:57:54Z

Download: [ PDF ]

Around 10,000 .Asia IDNs already asked for at Close of Sunrise

Hong Kong, August 2, 2011 - Following the successful completion of Sunrise, DotAsia today announces the opening of Landrush (http://idn.asia) for Chinese, Japanese and Korean ".Asia" Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) starting August 2, closing October 11, 2011.

During the Sunrise and Pioneer Domains application periods, around 2,000 applications were received, along with 2,500 domains each for Chinese, Japanese and Korean IDNs requested for oversight by governments. In total, close to 10,000 ".Asia" IDNs have already been asked for at the close of Sunrise on July 25.

]]> The Pioneer Domains Program was especially well received from the entertainment sector, as many artists and films may not have trademark for their own names, yet are often targets for abusive registrations. Through the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild (香港演藝人協會), celebrities including Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Jacky Chan, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Ella Koon, have all marked their Chinese .Asia domain name. Other organizations and their members, such as the Hong Kong Film Awards (香港電影金像獎), Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd. (香港作曲家及作詞家協會), The Hong Kong Film Directors Guild (香港電影導演會) and Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers (香港電影工作者總會) also made use of the program to register their respective ".Asia" names.

Landrush for IDN ".Asia" follows several important and related announcements in the industry, including Google's announcement in July of their full IDN support for Adwords (http://adwords.blogspot.com/2011/07/non-ascii-characters-now-supported-in.html), allowing Google Ads to be fully in Chinese for the first time (including content as well as the URL); and, Baidu's strong results, also announced in July 2011, reporting a nearly doubled net profit growth driven by the surge of search revenues. Together, they help ripen the market for IDN in Asia.

"The Internet is moving towards an IDN world. The hundreds of millions of users in China, Japan and Korean are searching online with keywords in their own language. DotAsia not only recognizes the SEO value of IDN, but is committed to supporting businesses and artists to better reach their customers and fans with '.Asia' domains," said Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia.

Contact
Beatrice Chan
+852-2368-8173
beartice@dot.asia

中文域名價值隨時爆升全球逾百萬人註冊

2011-07-29T08:20:09Z

互聯網為現代人生活中不可或缺的一環，發展固然非常成熟，但只要緊貼新趨勢，仍然商機處處，中文域名創辦人之一的鍾宏安指出，隨着去年政策及技術上的配合，中文域名將會逐漸普及，有可能創造出動輒以千萬元成交的域名，雖然發展仍在起步階段，但價值一旦被發掘，相信可成為互聯網的黃金地皮。記者莊菀婷互聯網發展一日千里，中文域名的進程，卻遇上不少阻滯，香港互聯網協會副主席兼DotAsia行政總裁鍾宏安指出，○○年有公司偷步，開放中文域名註冊，但當時技術根本未發展成熟，政策層面亦未成熟，「結果註冊咗，唔用得唔work，形成一個信心危機」。
鍾宏安又稱，當時中文域名的註冊量十分驚人，全球有超過一百萬人註冊，但此事發生後，令人對中文域名失去信心，影響中文域名的整個發展速度。至○三年，中文域名國際標準初稿才出台。

]]> 迎合中國人搜尋習慣

「以前瀏覽器認domain，只係認到三十七個英文字母，認唔到中文，要中文域名通行，就要每個軟件都認到中文」。他指出，○三年只能部份中文如「中文.asia」，域名如「中文.中文」仍未能通用，但現時網絡上的升級，已接近完成。

不少人或許不明白，既然英文域名源用至今，中文域名的價值及意義何在，鍾宏安解釋，現時我們使用雅虎、谷歌等搜尋器，只要域名與關鍵字脗合，搜尋結果排名就會上升，愈多人點擊及搜尋，瀏覽人次就會愈多，愈吸引廣告商。

「中國人search嘢，多數都係用中文，如果可以優化engine，用中文域名，個價值就在此。」他指出，現時不少品牌銳意打入中國市場，而中國人慣性搜尋時都用中文，因此中文域名的潛在價值十分之高。
至於哪類的中文域名較受歡迎，就要看炒家策略，鍾宏安指，以往比較短的域名，會比較受歡迎，被搜尋的次數愈高，就愈搶手。「域名的價值，在於其流量，以及網民對相關關鍵字的搜索率，例如按揭、保險、網上購物等，都係熱門搜尋字。」以英文域名來說，有史以來最值錢的是business.com，以過億元成交，其次sex.com及diamond.com，成交亦過千萬的。

不過相對英文域名，中文域名炒賣尚在起步階段，但鍾相信，當人們意識到中文域名的價值，將會是一幅黃金地。「呢個暫時係個無王管的地方，祖國喜歡跟風的風氣，中文域名價錢炒得高過英文，都唔出奇。」　　他續稱，其實近期炒風已蔓延至亞洲市場，最近「日本.com」就以十萬美元成交，「其實?家都係入市的適當時候，尤其係中國的互聯網工業，正在起飛。」　　現時亞洲區有有二十億互聯網用戶，並非以英文為母語，鍾認為中文域名的普及，對未上網的族群影響最大，「英文域名好多水蛇春咁長，英文唔好的人好難記，如果有中文，辦認的能力都就高咗，瀏覽亦會順暢咗，可以幫到啲未接觸過互聯網的人。」　　鍾指出，現時得十六個中文域名可供註冊，如.asia和.net，下年會進一步，用戶自行「勾地」，可註冊如.頭條日報的域名。「希望香港人及亞洲人爭取多啲靚名靚地，唔好落入歐美企業手中。」

中文域名生力軍

2011-07-25T03:46:41Z

十多年前，互聯網還是新興事物，許多人從未想過中文也可成為域名。鍾宏安（Edmon）卻將不可能變成可能，研發出中文域名技術，更獲加拿大多倫多大學資助，成功創業。可惜科網股爆破，中文域名始終未成氣候，但他沒有氣餒，一直積極推動，近年終達成心願，互聯網不再只是英文域名的天下！

隨着互聯網市場開放，頂級域名已不再局限於「.com」、「.com.hk」等，○七年推出的「.asia」便是一個新突破，現時註冊用戶已達二十五萬。三十六歲的Edmon是「DotAsia」行政總裁，該公司於○六年成立，屬非牟利機構，專責管理「.asia」域名，轄下成員均為亞洲國家及地區的頂級域名註冊商。

「DotAsia」可說由Edmon一手湊大，早在○二年，他已義務參與推動「.asia」域名，經過無數次會議磋商，○六年「.asia」終獲ICANN（國際互聯網名稱和編號分配公司）審批，翌年正式在互聯網上出現。他笑說：「.asia代表整個亞洲區，係一個品牌，有助提升企業形象，藝人就可以吸納更多粉絲。」例如武打明星甄子丹，便有個「甄子丹.asia」網站。
互聯網另一重大革命，就是出現中文域名，「天文台.香港」便是一例。中文域名技術所以能獲廣泛應用，Edmon可說功不可沒。九九年，Edmon在加拿大多倫多大學碩士畢業，搵工期間，他遇到一個難題，「發現好多公司，淨係知個中文名，但用中文名加.com喺網上係唔得嘅，一定要用英文。」

]]> 科網股爆破無損決心
他由此激發起研究中文域名技術的念頭，於是和幾位同學合作研究，短短數月便取得突破。「我哋做到一個系統，可將域名轉用中文或其他語言，仲得到多倫多大學創新基金幫忙，搵到一筆一百萬加幣嘅風險投資。」他們為系統申請專利，並成立公司創業。

正當他躊躇滿志之際，卻碰上二千年科網股爆破，公司大受打擊，「呢段期間亦發現到，即使有中文域名技術，要真正應用，仍需得到各域名註冊商配合，正因為咁，令我哋轉而研發整體註冊流程系統。」經過一段艱苦經營，其公司最後在○三年被全球第二大域名註冊商Afilias收購。

這次創業雖然未算成功，但Edmon深信隨着中國崛起，中文域名一定大有市場。○五年他從加拿大返港，協助籌組「DotAsia」，並繼續與ICANN商討「.asia」及中文域名事宜。○七年，ICANN終批准使用含中文字的「.hk」、「.asia」等域名，及至○九年，「.香港」、「.亞洲」等中文頂級域名亦正式出現。

一心行善賺錢回饋弱勢社群
貴為IT精英，Edmon沒有選擇在更賺錢的商業機構工作，反而專心一意管理「DotAsia」這個非牟利機構，為的就是要回饋社會。他笑說：「公司賺嘅錢，全部用番喺有需要嘅人身上，以及推動互聯網發展，而且最重要係我都有份使呢啲錢！」

他說的「有份使」，是指決定將資金用到哪個公益用途，「例如『每童一電腦』，就係將電腦送畀內地、柬埔寨、馬來西亞等山區兒童，我哋亦同社聯合作『數碼共融基金』，教新移民、長者、貧窮家庭應用電腦。」

Edmon另一抱負是推動本港IT界參與制訂互聯網政策。「國際性互聯網會議係歡迎任何人參加，但香港企業嘅參與度好低，唔夠積極，咁只會令互聯網政策向西方國家傾斜。」

Edmon's Profile
現職：DotAsia行政總裁
學歷：加拿大多倫多大學應用科學學士及工程學碩士
公職：香港互聯網協會副主席、ICANN亞太區互聯網用戶組織秘書長
興趣：烹飪、看電影、閱讀、攝影

Priority Sunrise Registration of Chinese, Japanese and Korean .Asia Domain Names Begin Worldwide

2011-07-20T06:33:15Z

The CEO of DotAsia Organisation, Mr. Edmon Chung met the media in Hong Kong presenting the IDN sunrise policy and the value of the .Asia IDN.

DotAsia 機構行政總裁鍾宏安先生會見傳媒並介紹.Asia 國際化域名日出期的安排及.Asia 國際化域名的價值。

]]>

詳情:

Presenter: Edmon Chung (CEO, DotAsia Organisation Vice Chair, Internet Society HK Chapter).

聲音檔案下載:

110712_OTV_FORUM.mp3

上載/修改於:

2011/07/19 20.00

分類:

特備節目 , English Video , 香港互聯網協會 , 鍾宏安 , Edmon Chung , "Priority Sunrise Registration of Chinese, Japanese and Korean .Asia Domain Names Begin Worldwide" , DotAsia Organisation , Asian New gTLDs , Asian Businesses , IDN Registrants , Internet Society HK Chapter , Internationalized Domain Name , Community Initiatives , 亞太區互聯網用戶組織 , 互聯網電郵地址技術 , 泛用型域名 , Generic Top-Level Domain , Asian language IDN gTLDs

播放次數:

內容:

Global Brands, Asian Businesses, IDN Registrants, Community Initiatives, Celebrities and Pioneers Invited

DotAsia launched Sunrise for Chinese, Japanese and Korean Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) registrations (www.idn.asia...) and announces the opening of the IDN Pioneer Domains Program (www.think.asia).... The Pioneer Domains Program is open for any interested applicant to build out the best domains (e.g. "交易.asia", "ビジネス.asia", "게임.asia", etc.), while Sunrise provides registered businesses, trademark holders and existing .Asia domain holders priority to protect their brands in the largest and fastest growing Asian Internet marketplace. Application is not on first-come-first-served basis, applicants will not be disadvanced as long as they submit it before the July 20th deadline.

Following the successful .Asia Sunrise and Landrush in 2007, which achieved 100% satisfaction from an online survey, over 40,000 auctions and resulted in 0 disputes, DotAsia implements an enhanced and simplified process for the introduction of Chinese, Japanese and Korean names for the ".Asia" top-level-domain (TLD). Besides trademark and businesses, existing Pinyin, Romaji and Romaja '.Asia' domain holders and IDN ccTLD (country-code TLDs - .CN / .TW / .HK / .SG / .JP / .KR) registrants are also invited to participate in Sunrise.

相關檔案:

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Republished from OurTV

.Asia中文域名的價值 / The Value of .Asia Chinese domain name

2011-07-19T10:37:24Z

網絡世界一直被英文主導，特別是搜尋及域名更是以英文為先，今次.Asia推出中文域名正好讓中文主導的亞洲社會，有了更親切及更屬於自己的互聯網。English has been dominating the internet world for a long time - from searching for information to typing a domain name, English is the most popular language for netizens. .Asia's newly launched Chinese IDN domain names can help to provide a better environment for internet development in Asia. ]]>

DotAsia to Support Asian New gTLDs

2011-07-12T04:19:47Z

Download: [ EN | ZH-繁 | ZH-简 ]

Launch of Chinese, Japanese and Korean ".Asia" IDN Continues:
Priority Sunrise Registrations will Close on July 25 2011,
Open Landrush Registrations to Begin August 2, 2011

Hong Kong, 2011 July 12 - 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: ".亚洲/.亞洲 ", ".アジア", ".아시아", etc. and applications from other Asian new gTLD applicants.

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

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

Meanwhile, building on the successful Sunrise and Landrush launch of English alphanumeric (ASCII) .Asia domain registrations in 2007 and 2008, the 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 an 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.

The launch of .Asia IDN coincides with the decision made by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to allow an increase in the number of Internet address endings - called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) beyond the existing 22 at their 41st Public Meeting, held last month in Singapore. The plan will usher in one of the biggest changes ever to the Internet's Domain Name System as Internet addresses will be able to end with and expressed entirely in any language or script, offering organizations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause, and to connect with users in new and innovative ways.

"IDNs will change the perceived value of domain names in Asia as businesses discover the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) value of domains. The 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 that matches what users are searching for, thereby improving the ranking of your website," added Chung.

About DotAsia Organisation
DotAsia Organisation (http://www.dot.asia) is a regional not-for-profit organization with a mission to promote Internet development and adoption around Asia. DotAsia oversees the ".Asia" top-level Internet domain name, and is formed as an open membership consortium of official domain authorities around the region, including .CN (China), .JP (Japan), .KR (Korea), .IN (India), .NZ (New Zealand), .PH (Philippines), etc., and regional Internet organizations including APNIC, APNG, APCERT, PAN and APTLD. DotAsia has a core mandate towards digital inclusion, education and research and development.

Issued for and on behalf of DotAsia Organisation by Mention PR Consultants Ltd.

Media enquiries:
Mianco Wong: 3752 0568 / 6151 7285 / mianco@mansumpr.com
Teresa Cheng: 3752 0569 / 9750 7164 / teresa@mansumpr.com

.ASIA IDN News Clippings

2011-07-08T09:35:41Z

On this page, you'll find a listing of some .Asia IDN related news clippings.
]]> ENGLISH
"Domains of our own"
Visit link

KOREAN
"Hangeul DotAsia domain helping businesses get closer to customers" by Yoon Ja-young, Korea Times
Visit link

JAPANESE
"「国際化ドメイン名」がインターネット利用をさらに拡大する"
聞き手は高橋健太郎＝日経NETWORK
Visit link

"新ドメイン、導入支援サービス熱気　「日本語．ａｓｉａ」など大幅に種類拡大" Sankei Business
Visit link

"新ドメイン、導入支援サービス熱気　「日本語．ａｓｉａ」など大幅に種類拡大" Yahoo Japan
Visit link

CHINESE
"SUN世代：一心行善賺錢回饋弱勢社群"
Visit link

"中日韓.asia域名接受註冊" 記者：張一華, 星島日報
Visit link

"「.亞洲」域名8月公開申請" 明報
Visit link

DotAsia 全力支持亞洲新通用頂級域名 - 13 July
http://www.prnasia.com/pr/11/07/110181932-3.html
http://news.msn.com.tw/news2248442.aspx
http://finance.gucheng.com/201107/1287384.shtml
http://news.domain.cn/html/yumingfuwushang/2011/0713/11729.html
http://www.cdnews.com.tw/cdnews_site/docDetail.jsp?coluid=112&docid=101593755
http://www.finet.hk/mainsite/newscenter/PRNCN/0/20110714021311f79644xprbgs.html

中日韓.asia域名今起註冊中港企業掀認購潮 - 13 June
http://www.ttv.com.tw/100/06/1000613/06201113081231569691693E4A8E9973043AAE35FAF72C55.htm
http://news.sina.com.hk/news/2/1/1/2354656/1.html
http://www.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1017/3/0/1/101730120.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=101730120
http://www.mingpaovan.com/htm/News/20110613/HK-gwm1.htm

全球最優質國際化域名 -- ".Asia"輕易打通亞洲各國市場 - 11 May
http://www.chineseworldnet.com/cn/stock/financeNewsGroup/pr_news_cn/1257237
http://www.prnasia.com/pr/11/05/110113432-3.html
http://itnews.foruto.com/Itnews.php?action=ReadNews&TID=20110512172857
http://www.hkepc.com/6489

中文域名先鋒　捉鹿仍未脫角

2011-07-03T04:36:06Z

"中文域名先鋒　捉鹿仍未脫角" 記者：王俊傑, 新報

Uniting World Wide Web with gTLDs ambiguities, according to an industry expert

2011-06-27T03:57:24Z

ZDNet Asia - SINGAPORE--Uniting World Wide Web with gTLDs ambiguities, according to an industry expert.

The establishment of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) and internationalized domain names (IDNs) will not result in a more fragmented, complex Web arena to navigate but will allow all communities, regardless of their perspectives and interests, to have an online presence.

Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia Organisation, which is the sponsoring organization and registry operator for the .asia gTLD, believes the acceptance of domain names such as .XXX and .gay, for example, are representations of one's views of the world with regard to supporting homogeneity or diversity. And he believes the introduction of these gTLDs will help unite the World Wide Web because it would signify the acceptance of all communities on a single platform.

In Singapore recently for the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) board meeting, Chung sat down for a chat with ZDNet Asia and discussed the value of having the .Asia IDN for regional small and midsize businesses (SMBs). He also highlighted the need for a smooth assignation process for these domain names.

]]> Q: DotAsia kicked off the "sunrise" application for Chinese, Korean and Japanese .Asia IDNs on May 11. How's the response and who stands to benefit most?
Chung: The "sunrise" application is currently ongoing until Jul. 25 and is a priority registration period designed to promote a calmer, more orderly process of assigning IDNs compared with a "first-come-first-serve" system.

Similar to the Anglicized .Asia registration process back in 2008, which saw about half a million applications, it takes a while for consciousness of the domain name to sink in with businesses and domain operators. However, SMBs are starting to see the value and possibilities of such IDNs. In big Asian markets such as China, for instance, where hundreds of millions of Internet users search in Chinese, the value of the Chinese .Asia IDN is significant.

In terms of search engine optimization (SEO), the .Asia domain has two main value propositions. First, "Asia" is a natural keyword for people looking for information regarding the region and this naturally brings domain names with the .Asia suffix to the top.

Second, search engines pull up Web sites with the country-code TLD (ccTLD) such as .sg first, and .Asia second, which ranks the .Asia TLD consistently second in searches across all Asian countries, thus, making it first overall.

How is the auction model a "calmer" process?
Compared with the first-come-first-serve model, which would lead to masses of companies looking to log their applications within minutes of its opening, the auction model provides a window of time for interested parties to consider the pros and cons of bidding for their trademark domain name.

This helps prevent our servers from being overloaded and avoid contentious disputes between different stakeholders over the validity of their claims.

The sunrise process for .Asia registration in 2007 to 2008, for instance, had 30,000 trademark holders and global brands registering during that period when 40,000 auctions took place. At the end of the process, there were zero disputes as all parties were provided information of competing claims and could deliberate on whether to cede control of or bid for the domain name.

Won't the slew of new generic top-level domains, including IDNs, fragment the World Wide Web?
I don't believe it will. Any answer to this question relates to one's world views, whether you believe in homogeneity or diversity. I personally subscribe to the diversity standpoint where the potential of bringing the various communities with their unique views online, will actually help unite, rather than fragment, the Web.

What's the difference registering the domain as xxx.gay.com and .gay? In this case, what is the value of having a .gay gTLD?
There is an emotional value to the suffixes such as .gay, similar to that of car plates, for example. Why else would people bid so much for specific car plate numbers? It's this combination of vanity and belonging to a community that makes certain gTLDs important to different groups of people.

The flipside would be that by registering under a certain domain name, this would make it easier for governments to clamp them down. The question then would be: "Are we creating a monster for large-scale censorship?" This view was shared with me during a recent forum I attended and it has since made me reconsider the pros and cons behind having such gTLDs.

Republished from source: ZDNet Asia
Article written by: Kevin Kwang

NOTE: The general CC license of this site does not apply to the content in this post. This post is subject to copyrights of its author and ZDNet Asia.

域名有價掀炒風

2011-06-14T04:28:29Z

"域名有價掀炒風" 信報

.Asia 中文域名　有利企業攻華

2011-06-13T09:43:47Z

".Asia 中文域名　有利企業攻華" 記者：洪小晶, 經濟日報