.eu domain name okayed
2005-04-21 15:15
Brussels - The European Union Commission on Thursday said it had obtained official approval for its new internet suffix: ".eu."
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority has written the category into its software, and assigned it the same status it gives ".com" and ".edu."
People and businesses will be able to register their websites at Eurid, an agency with an office in Leuven, near Brussels.
The commission said it didn't yet know how much registration would cost.
Starting this autumn, public institutions and trademark holders can pre-register their names. "This avoids cyber-squatting" where people register famous names and resell them, said EU spokesperson Martin Selmayr.
However, he urged those seeking an internet suffix to avoid on-line or private schemes offering pre-regisration, saying the offers could be fraudulent.