Registrations under '.vn' ccTLD now available

The Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VINIC), the Vietnamese domain name registry, has announced that it will be accepting domain name registrations under the '.vn' country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) from the latter half of the first quarter of 2005. However, VINIC is offering mark owners the possibility to pre-register their marks as '.vn' ccTLDs until January 31. Any domain name that is not registered in the pre-registration period will be made available to the general public when registration opens later this quarter.

Until now, domain names could only be registered under a variety of second-level extensions, such as '.com.vn', '.net.vn' or '.org.vn'. The '.vn' ccTLD opened to non-Vietnamese entities at the end of 2003 (see '.vn' domain space opens to foreign registrants).

It is important for mark owners to pre-register their marks as '.vn' ccTLDs given the rapid growth of use of the Internet in Asia.

David Taylor, Lovells, Paris