04/21/97 A NEW NABOB OF NAMES ON THE NET

A NEW NABOB OF NAMES ON THE NET

DOT WHAT? LOOK FOR A SPATE of new suffixes for Web domain names. Right now, hamburger lovers can access www.mcdonalds.com. The most prominent of the 1.2 million existing names are ''.com'' for commercial, ''.edu'' for educational institutions, and ''.gov'' for government bodies. Later this year, the list will expand to include seven new names, including ''.store'' for retailers and ''.nom'' for individuals.
Significantly, these new names will be assigned by someone other than Network Solutions Inc., up until now the sole U.S. gatekeeper of Web addresses. Disgruntlement over how NSI parcels out names has led Digital Equipment, UUNet, the International Telecommunications Union, and other high-tech outfits to set up their own coalition to settle disputes, especially among trademarked brands. The members will individually O.K. new names.
NSI has let people register numerous well-known handles, such as McDonald's, forcing companies to buy the right to the names. But NSI says it still has many supporters and that it, too, is working on adding more names for cybernauts.
Paul M. Eng
EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT