China's Internet development is expected to receive a boost in December when the .CN domain name will be made available to businesses outside China under a new liberalised policy.
A deal between the .US registry NeuStar and the China Internet Network Information Centre (CNNIC) will allow businesses outside China to acquire URLs (universal resource locators) with the .CN extension, which is the geographical top-level domain name for China.
CNNIC is responsible for managing China's Internet address space and for developing new Internet standards and technologies for China. Previously, CNNIC allowed only companies with either Chinese ownership or physical business addresses in China to use the .CN domain name. Until recently, personal domain names were not allowed in China.
Neustar and CNNIC plan to accept .CN domain name registrations through accredited registrars outside China beginning in December.
Richard Tindal, vice-president of sales and marketing at Neustar Registry, predicted an avalanche of demand for the .CN extension.
'We expect tens of thousands of companies to apply for the .CN domain. We expect great demand from foreign companies eager to secure a presence in China's Internet space. This is also significant as it is the first time China is opening up to allow for foreign players in the Internet domain- name market.'