The new top-level domain .asia became available for pre-registration in October. This first "sunrise" period enabled trademark holders and government bodies to register their interest in acquiring a .asia domain name before the new TLD is launched next year.

Described as the last web address gold rush on this scale, the Asian market Joins the EU in having its own designation. Where European customers tend to prefer country domains or the good old .corn TLD, Asian businesses are ripe targets for the new suffix. Only around 11 per cent of all .com registrations come from the Asian region. With 60 per cent of the world population living in the Asia-Pacific region, and over 400 million Internet users, The .asia domain name is bound to be a success.

The TLD isn't just intended for Asian registrants though. South Korea, Japan and China are among the world's fastest growing economies, with technological innovation to match. South Korea has a national broadband network with speeds of 10Mbps. That's a consistent, nationally available speed too, not an "up to estimate based on a bunch of arcane variables. The government is investing £1.06biltion to upgrade the network, too, aiming for speeds of 100Mbps by 2010.

The tech savvy of these regions makes them attractive target markets for companies plying their trade in the internet economy. Global brands such as Google are investing strongly in this area —exemplified by its acquisition of a stake in Chinese social networking site Tianya. When you also, consider the huge number of businesses in the rest of the world targeting the Asian market, the potential for the domain name is vast.

Companies can begin to pre-register during the second "sunrise" period (which began 13 November), while the "land rush" period for all parties should start in February 2008. Full registration is expected to come online in March 2008.