Internet addresses ending in '.asia' will be open to governments and trademark owners starting in October, with general registrations coming in 2008, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report, quoting the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), said the initial round, which starts October 9, is limited to governments desiring geographical names such as 'china.asia' and those with trademarks applied before March 16, 2004, and actively in use.
Registrations for other trademarks and for company names begin November 13, the Internet's key oversight agency for domain names, said.
DotAsia Organization, an organization made up of groups that run domain names for China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and other countries, will operate '.asia,' which it sought as a way to unify businesses and other users in the Asia-Pacific region, the Associated Press report said.
The organization has said it plans to restrict registrations to those in the region, which includes Australia.
General registrations will come after that, though DotAsia did not specify when.