UAEnic to give free Internet domain names

The free domains will be www.name.sch.ae for schools, www.name.ac.ae for colleges and universities, www.name.gov.ae for government bodies, and www.name.org.ae for non-profit organisations.

"As the Internet becomes an ever increasing aspect of our everyday lives, it is our responsibility to ensure that we provide such bodies with a national identity online," commented Abdulla Hashim, Manager, UAEnic. "This allows customers and other visitors to web sites to distinguish them on the ever-expanding web. By using '.ae' companies, individuals and institutions automatically associate themselves with the U.A.E."

To qualify the applicant will be asked to produce evidence of their official standing as one of the designated categories. Once the initial free domain has been given, subsequent domains will be charged at the normal registration and yearly fee.

Today's announcement follows other recent initiatives from UAEnic to increase the number of sites registered under '.ae'. In May 2002 alone, UAEnic reduced registration charges by up to 60% and introduced a new domain name registration and dispute policy.

Further changes in October included the offering of '.ae' without any prefix for private individuals as well as commercial organisations; prior to this only companies and organisations could register '.ae' without a prefix.

"The introduction of free domains to national institutions is another example of UAEnic's determination promote the country's top-level domain," added Hashim. "Our initiatives throughout this year have made the U.A.E the first country in the Middle East to gain endorsement from the World Intellectual property Organisation (WIPO), the international organisation dedicated to promoting the use and protection of intellectual property. This is testament to our efforts."

The '.ae' top level domain is similar to '.com' or '.co.uk' and allows Internet users to target those sites specifically associated with the UAE.