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Non-Tech : Binary Hodgepodge -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ~digs who wrote (566)	4/23/2003 3:26:22 PM
From: ~digs	Respond to of 6763

New domain for doctors, lawyers available in July Wednesday April 23, 2:15 PM EDT ; By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - A long-delayed Internet domain specially designed for doctors, lawyers and accountants should be up and running by July, the domain's sponsor said Wednesday. Doctors using Web sites in the ".pro" domain will be able to e-mail prescriptions and lawyers will be able to sign contracts online thanks to built-in technologies that encrypt communications and enable digital signatures, said Atlanta-based RegistryPro Inc. Those looking to reserve names such as "earache.med.pro" or "johndoe.law.pro" will be required to show copies of their professional certifications and pay an annual fee of $125. Web addresses ending in ".com" or other domains typically cost less than $30 per year. A RegistryPro official said that security features accounted for the relatively high price. "We're looking to provide a gated community for professionals," said Sloan Gaon, RegistryPro's chief operating officer. The domain was first approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in November 2000. It is the last of seven new domain names approved by the online regulator to become fully operational. RegistryPro, a subsidiary of New York domain seller Register.com Inc. (RCOM), said trademark holders could set aside their marks in a special preregistration period starting Wednesday. For a fee ranging from $500 to $1,500, companies will be able to ensure that Web addresses like "www.cocacola.law.pro" are not snapped up by speculators, Gaon said. Such "sunrise" periods for new domains have led to conflicts in the past, as speculators have used questionable trademarks to secure desirable Web addresses like "www.computer.info" before they became available to the public. Gaon said the company would use artificial-intelligence technology to weed out obviously fraudulent applications. Other conflicts can be worked out in a special dispute-resolution process, he said. "It's much like domain names today -- you have United Airlines and United Trucking, and you have Delta Faucets and Delta Airlines," Gaon said. "We operate in a similar environment, and we look at it as sort of a first-come, first serve registry." RegistryPro hopes to expand the domain to include architects and other professionals in the future, Gaon said. finance.myway.com