Europe wants to put a new domain name on the cybermap - one based on geography. It says the .eu suffix would boost e-commerce.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), meeting in Stockholm this weekend, is taking steps to launch new domains which should help relieve the pressure for more Web address space as the Internet continues to grow.
To supplement the heavily used .com, .org and .edu domains and those that indicate country of origin such as .uk and .fr, ICANN is focusing on domain names that indicate categories of activity such as .biz and .pro.
The European Union appeared to take another tack with its plans to create the .eu domain, whose main feature is its strong geographical connotation.
But the European Commission, the European Union's executive, said its plans for the new domain were proceeding according to schedule even though the .eu issue did not feature prominently at the ICANN meeting.
"We are present in the domain debate. We want to put .eu on the cybermap because we think it is important to give companies the possibility to market themselves as truly pan-EU," European Commission spokesman Per Haugaard told Reuters.
"We see this as an effort to boost e-commerce."
The exponential growth of Internet penetration and usage has meant that more and more users and companies are pressing for Web addresses.
Right now there are an estimated 407 million Internet users, while Internet-activated devices--such as digital TV set top boxes and third generation mobile phones--are expected to soar to 2.4 billion by 2004.
The European Parliament is due to vote on the proposal for a new domain in July. It will have to also be approved by member states.
