August 25, 2012
InternetNZ (Internet New Zealand Inc) has announced a new second level domain in the .nz name space - .kiwi.nz.
However, before the extension goes prime time, there will need to be expressions of interest from at least 500 potential registrants.
"....we think it is a great opportunity for people to get a true 'kiwi' tone into their domain names," said Domain Name Commissioner Debbie Monahan.
The new extension is being managed by InternetNZ's subsidiary company; the Domain Name Commission Ltd. Authorised .nz registrars will commence accepting expressions of interest for registrations for .kiwi.nz from Tuesday, 11 September 2012.
Not everyone is happy with the new arrival. In a post titled "Avoid Cheap Imitations", Dot Kiwi Ltd has said it "is not in the best interest of Kiwis, internet users or in fact the Internet in New Zealand."
Tim Johnson, Chief Executive Officer Dot Kiwi Ltd, believes there will be widespread confusion between .kiwi.nz and his company's proposed .kiwi domain, one of over 1,930 new top-level domain applications under ICANN's expanded gTLD initiative.
"We are hugely disappointed with the total lack of common sense in this decision to create .kiwi.nz," says Mr. Johnson, who has accused InternetNZ of ignoring multiple submissions from Dot Kiwi Ltd opposing the creation of the name.
.NZ Domain Name Trivia
InternetNZ was established in 1995. The redelegation of operations of the .nz extension to InternetNZ occurred in 1996 after the original operator, Waikato University, wanted to discontinue providing registration services due to the jump in demand for domain names.
By the end of March 1996, there were just 3627 .NZ names registered. According to the .NZ Domain Name Commission, 477,688 .NZ names were registered as at March 31, 2012 - a growth of 10.27% over the previous year.
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