The two domains are the first of 10 applications submitted in
March for sponsored top-level domains to reach this stage in the
selection process.
In the 1980s seven top-level domains were created: .com, .net,
.org, .gov, .int, .mil, .edu. Then in November 2000, seven new
names were created: .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .aero, .coop and
.museum.
The 10 new applications before ICANN relate to the proposed
domains: .asia, .cat, .jobs, .mail, .tel (two applications made by
separate organisations), .mobi and .xxx. This last proposal is the
most controversial, having already been put forward in 2000 and
rejected by ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers).
According to ICANN, the applications have so far progressed
together through a public consultation and the scrutiny of three
independent evaluation panels – which assessed the proposals for
technical competence, business and financial sufficiency and on
whether the proposed domain belonged to a sponsored community.
Following reports from the panels, the applicants behind .post
(the Universal Post Union) and .travel (the Travel Partnership
Corporation) have now moved on to the next stage of the process –
technical and commercial negotiations.
The remaining eight applicants are able to respond to the
panels' findings and, according to ICANN, "the path each applicant
now takes varies according to which sets of criteria were or were
not met".
