If Google is successful, web users will someday be able to visit pages on new domains that end with .google, .youtube, .docs and even .lol.
The company has confirmed its participation in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) application process for new generic top-level domains (TLDs), which ended last night. Shortly before the deadline, ICANN announced that it had received more than 1,900 applications.
Today, Google announced that it applied for new TLDs in four separate categories: trademarks like .google; core business names like .docs; names that will improve the user experience, like .youtube; and names with “interesting and creative potential” like .lol.
A company spokesperson declined to tell Marketing Land exactly how many domains Google applied for, nor to share any additional names that it’s seeking.
But AdAge is reporting that Google applied for more than 50 new TLDs. If accurate, that means Google spent more than $9 million in application fees; ICANN charged $185,000 for each application.
So far, few others have come forward to announce or confirm that they’ve applied for new TLDs. Mashable, however, is reporting that Public Interest Registry — the organization that oversees the .org domain, has applied for the .ngo and .ong TLDs.
ICANN is targeting June 13 as its “Reveal Day” when all applications will be made public. The organization’s expected timeframe suggests that some domains could hit the web as early as next year.
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