New '.hk' administrator makes its debut

The Hong Kong Internet Registration Authority (HKIRA), a new non-profit organization, has taken control of administering the '.hk' domain from the Hong Kong Joint Universities Computer Centre. The organization is now the only registrar of the country-code top-level domain, but it expects to create a competitive environment over time.

In addition to assuming overall responsibility for registering and administering domains in the '.hk' domain space, the HKIRA has been given the mandate to represent Hong Kong when dealing with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.

Within the next 12 months, the HKIRA will introduce additional registration services for two new second-level domains - 'name.hk' and '.info.hk', for individuals and information providers respectively - as well as for domain names using Chinese characters.

The rationale for restructuring the domain name regime is to ensure that "more responsive and market-oriented services" are provided to the local internet community by an industry-led neutral corporation.

Thomas Tsang, Wilkinson & Grist, Hong Kong