EU enters cyberworld with own address on 7 December

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A rush among companies to register for a pan-European Union website is expected over coming weeks after the new .eu web address is launched on 7 December, the European Commission said on Thursday.

"I expect the .eu to become as important for European business as .com," EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding told reporters.

The .eu suffix will allow firms, organisations and individuals to have a European identity, Reding said. The new address or domain name will operate alongside national domain names such as .be for Belgium and .de for Germany.

From next Wednesday, trademark holders and public bodies will have four months to obtain a .eu address from registrars during a so-called sunrise period, on a first come, first served basis.

The sunrise period aims to stop "cyber squatters" from using a company's name to obtain a .eu address and then trying to sell that address to the company.

Disputes over .eu web addresses can be taken to a special court in Prague (www.arbcourt.cz/adreu/) that will offer quick and cheap arbitration, though national courts can also be used, Reding said.

Individuals can register for their own .eu site from 7 April next year.

Reding said any individual resident in the EU or any organisation or company established in the bloc, will be eligible for a .eu address, including non-EU bodies that have a branch in the EU.

The Commission said a .eu address will make it easier for companies to have a presence across the bloc's internal market without need for separate web addresses in each country.

"This should foster electronic commerce and boost economic competitiveness and growth," the Brussels executive said.

The US based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which manages the domain name system worldwide, has recognised EU-selected EURid as the body administering the .eu address, Reding said.

All EU institutions will begin using .eu web addresses from April next year.

For further information, contact http://www.eurid.eu/