Just when you thought domain name fever was dying down, a group of largely anonymous business people, academics and technical experts has changed the face of the net - and fuelled a huge row about how the internet is run.
As reported in last week's Online, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) spent most of last week debating the merits of 49 proposed new domain suffixes, to join .com, .net and .org.
After four days of debate they picked a slightly bizarre list of seven new suffixes - the first major ones designated since the 1980s. They are .aero, .biz, .coop, .info, .museum, .name and .pro.
Domain names with these new suffixes are expected to go on sale next spring -although how, and at what cost, a name like Guardian.biz will be sold now lies at the centre of a fierce debate.
Although these details have yet to be worked out, there will still a frenzy of activity online on Friday as net users attempt to snap up a name that might make them instant fortunes in a few months.
Domain name registrars have been saying for some time that the existing three general-use, worldwide suffixes had become overcrowded, with most English-language words and popular phrases being snapped up in the internet boom.
The .com suffix alone appends around two-thirds of the 30 million domain registrations worldwide.
The new suffixes are intended to make it easier to classify a website by its name and open up new permutations of domain name and suffix, giving, in theory, more people the chance to own a memorable, simple internet name.
But existing domain name holders - and especially those guarding valuable trademarks - fear that speculators will try to snap up the new names and "cybersquat" names like, for instance, cocacola.biz. That could force the trademark owners to pay out millions to buy the names, or free the names through the courts.
Having witnessed the scramble for new domain names last week, lawyers for trademark owners in the US are now demanding that there is a "sunrise" period when businesses have the option to buy names relating to their trademarks before the new suffixes become available to the public.
Meanwhile, there are also fears about the cost of buying the new names. The price of domain name registrations have fallen dramatically in the last year, with most now available for around £30 or less, but it is feared that restrictions placed on the new names will lead to higher costs.
For instance, the .museum suffix is intended only for organisations which are connected with museums, and registrars may need to check on applications to make sure they are entitled to use the suffix. This is in contrast to existing registrations in .com, .net and .org, which can be handled automatically.
Adding to the pricing fears, ICANN itself will not be issuing new names. Registrars - including Network Solutions, which used to own the monopoly on issuing domain names - have paid ICANN £30,000 each to become record keepers for the new names.
They will be able to resell the domain names to consumers for whatever price they choose, potentially making millions in the process.
One registrar, Delaware-based JVTeam, said it would introduce a sunrise period only if other registrars were also forced to do so by ICANN.
Adding to the confusion, some registrars have - for some time - been taking pre-registrations for names which do not yet exist.
As a result, one group certain to prosper from ICANN's deliberations last week will be the US lawyer community. Connie Ellerback, a partner with the Silicon Valley-based law firm Fenwick and West, told the Washington Post: "It's like different telephone companies giving out the same phone number for two people." She predicted there would be a wave of lawsuits for trademark infringement next year.
New domains
.aero For the aviation industry
.biz For businesses
.coop For cooperatives
.info General use
.museum For museums
.name For individuals
.pro For professionals
