Bidding began yesterday for prime new pieces of Internet real estate with the launch of the ".asia" domain name, which aims to become one of the Web's most desirable addresses.
The regional domain comes after the launch of the European-based .eu name last year and aims to join .com and .net as a widely used Web site suffix.
"The .asia domain acts like a channel or a portal, showing your commitment to the Asia market as a whole," said Edmon Chung (
"It provides an easier way to direct customers to your products," he said. "Our research has found that `Asia' is one of the most searched-for terms and by having a .asia Web site, your ranking on Google or Yahoo will become much higher."
Prices for Web site addresses can range from as little as US$10 to several hundred dollars, depending on their desirability, Chung said.
Businesses with trademarks, governments and official bodies will be allowed to register Web site addresses ending with the suffix during the initial offer period. The general public will be allowed to bid from February.
Firms and global brands from both inside and outside Asia were likely to be interested, and the suffix would act as a complement to country-specific domains such as .cn for China and .jp for Japan, Chung said.
He expected tourism bodies to be some of the first groups bidding for domain names, especially those with specifically Asian slogans, such as Hong Kong's "Asia's World City" and "Malaysia. Truly Asia."
The initial bidding period will be used to try and prevent disputes between organizations and individuals vying for a specific domain name, Chung said. If several claims are deemed equally valid, they will eventually be settled by an auction.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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