Tired of typing long internet addresses for Hong Kong websites? Next year should bring relief.
Following in the footsteps of the United States, Canada and Japan, Hong Kong internet users and companies will be able to register domain names ending with just .hk, instead of the usual com.hk, org.hk, gov.hk, edu.hk, or net.hk.
Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation, which is responsible for administrating the domain names of all websites ending with .hk, said the shortened Web addresses for Hong Kong sites would be available for registration from January.
Owners of about 69,000 domain names currently registered with the group will be able to apply for new shorter domain names from January for $250 a year. They can also keep their old domain names if they continue to pay the current fee of $200 a year. From March, everyone else can apply for the new .hk format.
'We are letting current domain name owners register first to avoid cyber-squatting,' a spokeswoman of the registration body said.
She was referring to a practice where people with no connection with established companies register derivatives of the brands as domain names, and then sell the registrations back to the companies for a profit.