Colombia has become the latest country to try turning its
country code top level domain into a global domain name. Colombia
sees the .co name as being a possible challenger to the supremacy
of the .com name, and La Universidad de Los Andes, which has
administered the Colombian country code since 1991, has invited
bids from firms who would market the domain name
internationally.
Colombia’s move comes as seven new generic top level domains
prepare to be released by various registry companies. With good
.com domain names increasingly difficult to find, .co could clearly
be used as an abbreviation for the word ‘company’.
The .co code could also prove popular with web site owners who
are looking to attract traffic from sloppy typers who miss out the
‘m’ in .com. The introduction of .co domain names may also produce
yet more challenges for companies who wish to defend their
trademarks on the internet.
Colombia’s move follows the example of the island of Tuvalu in
the South Pacific. Tuvalu’s .tv name was licensed to the US-based
dotTV company for $50 million.
La Universidad de Los Andes hopes to use the proceeds from the
bids to invest in scholarships and technological advances in
Colombia.
