THERE is likely to be little demand from Myanmar companies for the new .asia domain name despite expectations that individuals and firms in the region will snap up new website addresses when the suffix is made available to the public next February, Yangon-based IT sources said.

Hong Kong’s DotAsia began selling Asia-specific domain names to companies around the world from October 9, and interest is expected to be high as global corporations seek to grab titles relevant to the region with the world’s fastest growing internet population.

Cyber-squatters will also be looking for some missed bargains, but the sale is currently open only to governments and companies that own a trademarked name.

In Myanmar, though, IT specialists say .com will remain the suffix of choice – provided website owners can get the name they want – raising the possibility that Myanmar businesses may miss out on top names if they fail to recognise .asia as a serious contender to more established domain names.

“Most businesses in Myanmar are interested in buying .com domain names for their websites. Although they can buy .net, .com.mm or .biz, people here by far prefer .com,” said Ko Nyi Nyi Maw, general manager of Myanmar Crony Computer Group, a website hosting and design firm.

“The .com suffix is not only famous in Myanmar but also all over the world,” he said.

The launch of .asia follows that of the European-based .eu name last year and the group setting up the domain anticipates it will become prime cyber real estate.

“The .asia domain acts like a channel or a portal, showing your commitment to the Asia market as a whole,” DotAsia spokesman Edmon Chung told AFP.
“It provides an easier way to direct customers to your products.

“Our research has found that ‘Asia’ is one of the most searched-for terms and by having a .asia website, your ranking on Google or Yahoo will become much higher.”

Prices for website addresses can range from as little as US$10 to several hundred dollars, depending on their desirability, Chung said.

Ko Thurein Aung, sales director for Yangon-based Creative Web Studio, said .asia would face difficulties in Myanmar due to an entrenched view here that .com is the best suffix to secure.

Myanmar.net, a website hosting and design group, said it was not planning to start selling .asia domain names in Myanmar.

“We don’t have any plan to sell it in Myanmar at the moment because it was just introduced on October 9,” the company’s web development director, Ma Aye Thint Zar, said on October 19.

“We haven’t had any inquiries from customers yet. I don’t think it’s very well known among Myanmar people,” she said.

The .asia domain name, which has taken six years of campaigning and received the go-ahead last year, will cover territories from Australasia to the Middle East.

“After years of talks and negotiations .asia is finally here and all the signs are that it will be in even higher demand than .eu,” said Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer at domain name registrar NetNames.

“Businesses need to ensure that they get their valid applications in during the sunrise period to avoid missing out,” he added.

Top-level domains, which include .asia, country-specific suffixes and around 20 generic names, such as .biz or .org, are regulated by the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, with specific addresses sold through registrars.