Internet Preparing For Massive Upgrade

NEW YORK — Proposals for Internet addresses ending in ".pizza," ".space" and ".auto" are among the nearly 2,000 submitted as part of the largest expansion in the online address system.

Apple Inc., Sony Corp. and American Express Co. are among companies that are seeking names with their brands. Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. sought dozens of names, including ".app," and ".play." The wine company Gallo Vineyards Inc. wants ".barefoot."

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announced the proposals for Internet suffixes, the ".com" part of an Internet address, in London on Wednesday. They now go through a review process that could take months or years.

"The Internet is about to change forever," ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom declared, adding that new innovations could find homes in the new addresses.

There were 1,930 proposals for 1,409 different suffixes. The bulk came from North America and Europe.

If approved, the new suffixes would rival ".com" and about 300 others now in use. Companies would be able to create separate websites and separate addresses for each of their products and brands, even as they keep their existing ".com" name. Businesses that joined the Internet late, and found desirable ".com" names taken, would have alternatives.


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