Channel NewsAsia (www.channelnewsasia.com) announced on September 15 that over a thousand companies in Singapore have registered for second level domain names on the first day of application. Once approved, their Internet addresses will be shorter, ending with just .sg, instead of .com.sg or .net.sg.
Applications for second level domain names have kept registrars busy the whole day. Interested parties range from government agencies and private organizations to individuals. Priority will be given to government agencies, trademark holders and existing website owners. If two or more parties want the same domain name, then it will be allocated through bidding. But not every company will want to register for a second level domain name. Only half of Singapore's 40 000 registered websites are likely to do so.
Although the registrars are constantly on the phone answering queries about the procedures and policies for domain registrations, they do not expect a huge influx of applications at the start, as they are only processed together six weeks from now. Instead, registrars expect the rush in registration to start only when it is open to the public in January 2005. Applications will then be processed on a first-come-first-served basis.
