auDA to create new geographic 2LDs - state/territory.au

 

Melbourne, 14 November 2002 - The auDA Board has decided to create eight
new second level domains (2LDs) for Australian states and territories -
act.au, nsw.au, nt.au, qld.au, sa.au, tas.au, vic.au, wa.au - in order
to preserve Australian geographic names for use by the relevant
community.

 

"auDA is pleased to adopt a community-based geographic naming system
that will help to protect and promote Australian geographic areas and
their communities on the Internet," said auDA CEO, Chris Disspain. 

 

The proposed domain structure is placename.state/territory.au - for
example, bathurst.nsw.au or ballarat.vic.au. Use of the domain names
would be restricted to community website portals that reflect community
interests, such as local business, tourism, historical information,
special interest groups, and cultural events.

 

"The creation of the new 2LDs represents a major change to the
Australian DNS and there are many operational and policy issues that
need to be worked through. We anticipate a 12-18 month implementation
period," said Disspain.

 

The original proposal was submitted by the One City One Site working
party, and has been endorsed by the Online Council of Australian
Government IT Ministers.

 

The NSW Government has committed to undertake pilot testing in nsw.au,
as the first phase of progressive national implementation.

 

The decision to create the new 2LDs was made on the recommendation of
auDA's New Names Advisory Panel, which is evaluating a number of
proposals for new 2LDs in the .au domain. More information is available
at http://www.auda.org.au/policy/panel-newname-2002  

 

-ENDS-

 

For media contact:

 

auDA:

Chris Disspain

Chief Executive Officer

tel: 03 9349 4711

email: ceo§auda.org.au