Thousands of the capital’s businesses are expected to join a stampede for new “dot London” website names after the move was given the green light today.
The official go-ahead will allow companies to rename their websites with .London rather than .co.uk or .com at the end, in what is being seen as a huge global marketing coup for the city.
The new domain names will start to go on sale next spring and be ready to use by July after the deal was signed off in California this morning. They are expected to attract worldwide businesses looking for London-based suppliers and to keep the capital at the cutting edge of the digital revolution.
Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse, who chairs London & Partners, the body that will auction the domain names, said: “It’s a huge opportunity for London businesses to market themselves and promote our city across the world.”
There have already been as many as 20,000 expressions of interests to register “dot London” brands, including from Selfridges and the owners of Carnaby Street.
The US-based body that governs domain names, ICANN, signed off the dot London suffix last night as well as similar arrangements for New York, Paris, Berlin and Vienna.
Prices for the domain names are expected to start from as little as £20 but could rise to far higher levels for generic titles that are expected to be in hot demand such as “restaurants.london” or “hotels.london”.
Capital-based businesses or registered trademarks will have an “exclusivity period” lasting several months when they will be able to register their own “dot London” domain names. After that they will be thrown open to auction.
The domain names will have to be renewed each year for a small fee and London & Partners hope this will generate an income stream of several millions of pounds a year to be ploughed back into the promotion of the capital.
Some names, such as mayor.london, will be reserved for the city’s governing bodies and will not be available for sale.
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Mayor Boris Johnson said: “Adopting the .london suffix will enable organisations to associate themselves more closely with our city’s powerful global brand.”
Gordon Innes, chief executive of London & Partners, said: “We are already seeing huge interest – not just from prestigious stores and visitor attractions but also from local businesses and tradespeople.
“Applicants will get a domain name that links them with London and is easier to remember and more powerful, potentially resulting in more customers.”
More information on the new .london suffixes is available at www.mydotlondon.com.
