Somalia´s Top Domain (.SO) to be launched this year

[Coeus]

The Landrush phase for .SO, the top-level domain (TLD) of the Republic Somalia, will start on January 17, 2011. During Landrush, anyone interested may register .SO domains before they become generally available following the “first come, first served” principle on April 1, 2011. Key-Systems is already accepting pre-registrations for all .SO launch phases since October 2010. In addition to .SO, three other domain extensions are available: .COM.SO, .NET.SO and .ORG.SO.

Leesburg, VA, January 13, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The introduction process for the Somali domain extension .SO will continue with its second phase on January 17. During the preceding Sunrise phase, legitimate brand owners could secure their registered trademarks as domain names under .SO. The Landrush (01/17/2011 to 02/28/2011) aims at all interested parties, applications will be accepted for domains that were not registered or applied for during Sunrise and not reserved by the registry. "The Landrush opens up the chance to secure highly demanded premium domain names before they become available on a 'first come, first served' basis in General Availability," explains Key-Systems CEO Alexander Siffrin.

Domains with more than one valid Landrush application will be auctioned at Pool.com (03/14/2011). During the final General Availability starting April 1, 2011, all available domain names can be registered following the "first-come, first served" principle. The registration period for Landrush domains and domains of the General Availability has to be at least one year and maximum ten years.

.SO domain names must be made up of a minimum of 3 characters and a maximum of 63 characters (excluding the extension). Only the Latin alphabet letters a-z, digits, and hyphens will be accepted. Domain names beginning or ending with hyphens, as well as domain names with hyphens on the third and fourth position are prohibited. The policy for the TLD .SO is liberal, there are no restrictions concerning the registrants, no local presence service is needed. Technical operator of .SO is the Japanese company GMO Registry, for the operative tasks the Somali SO registry is responsible. The “sponsoring organization” of the TLD is the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of Somalia.

About Key-Systems
Key-Systems GmbH located in St. Ingbert, Germany, was founded by Alexander Siffrin in 1998. The company has grown from an academic sideline to a successful international ICANN accredited registrar for internet addresses. Areas such as a fully automated reseller-system and web hosting completed the success story. Today with more than 2.7 million domains under its management, the company has reached a leading market position, selling domain names, web hosting and DNS services to customers all over the world. The latest product BrandShelter.com offers companies and institutions special services related to domain administration including services to get their own top-level domain (TLD) as this opportunity unfolds in the near future. Key-Systems is operating subsidiaries in the USA and Mexico.

[Mckuus]

Cool,

I will definitely register a couple of domains Maybe they will be worth something in the future.