Dot Asia (.asia) is going to be a new domain extension next year. It is official, you can see it at this ICANN page. I mailed them about more details cause it is hard to find on the web. I got a very short reply back (I didn’t expect anything else 
). They said the normal registration will begin in February 2008, that is a long time to wait. The registration for trademark and service marks will begin in October 2007.
In the period for trademark and service marks registration I hope the generics will not be snapped away. names as laptops.asia are very generic and nobody has a trademark or service mark on it. But you never know, it happened with the launch of .eu, so it can happen again.
Dot Asia looks like a very good domain extension, but I think it is not that good cause all countries in Asia already have its own extension. But who knows, I think we can compare this extension with .eu, all EU countries also had its own extensions before the .eu launch, but was still very successful.
I am sure going to watch this process and trying to pick up some really generic names. domains as poker.asia or loans.asio will sure fetch a lot of money.
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June 7th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
thats geat news! but i think you shuould register more asia specific names….like travel.asia or something which asia is know for …i dnt think loans, mortgages are very popular around here…even poker is not…poker is famous, but is not called poker here…something else..
June 7th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
True Anand, I was just taking some examples, but travel.asia would probably one of the best domains I agree
June 7th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
.eu saw many people fling Benelux trademarks so they could get rights to generic terms cheaply and quickly, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the likes of poker.asia attempt to go during the sunrise stage.
Don’t forget, a trademark in the term ‘P.O & Ker Ltd’ would entitle you to register the term ‘poker’.
If .asia goes with a pre-validation system, whereby applications are validated prior to launch, there will be less chance of the .eu fiasco.
It’s not that easy to find information yet because dotasia have not released the finalised policies yet, and they won’t do so until the validation agents are in place - which will still be a few months away.
I met with Leona Chen (Director of Registrar & Community Relations) and Edmon Chung (CEO) at the start of the year, and they pretty much guaranteed a September Sunrise - which as you state, has already been pushed back to October - and there’s no guarantee it won’t be pushed further back. Don’t forget that you will also need representation from within the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region to register a .asia name.
After the Landrush (hopefully February 08) and the open reg (March 08) they will also be looking to start the implentation of IDN names under .asia…which is something else to look forward to.
Amos
June 7th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Lets hope there will be less chance of the .eu fiaso Amos !!
The guy who regged shopping.eu did it with a made up company called S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G.
Thats just to sad, everyone could know it was scam.
But the example you give here about P.O. & Ker Ltd is neat !!!
June 7th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
It will certainly have it’s own niche. It might possibly be restricted to the region for it’s registrants?
I personally have over 150 domains. Not sure how .asia will play a part in my mix of things.
.tv is my ultimate choice for now.
June 7th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
dot tv and dot fm are pretty out of my reach now…but still you can make some good domains with .st, .in and .tk….. like gue.st
June 8th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Very intereesting.. Would be good to market the sites i nVancouver since it is a denination for the travelers. Any one want to get a group together ad get a bunch of names?
June 8th, 2007 at 6:56 am
Thats not a bad idea Greg !
June 8th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Good news, i don’t need a dot asia currently. But i may need since i have some clients in India.