Domain name database gets seal of approval

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has given its official stamp of approval to a Web site which claims to put an end to Internet domain name disputes.

Internet One compiles a Web-based database that stores all the domain name variations on a particular company name. If a consumer isn't sure of a company's official Web site address they can simply enter that name followed by the .io domain name ending. This will query Internet One's database which will then generate a list of official and unofficial addresses.

Internet One claims it saves companies from paying often large amounts of money to buy back Web site address variations of their brand name that were registered before it even occurred to them to build a site - a practice known as cybersquatting.

A spokesman for the WIPO said it has submitted a document of endorsement to the company, which demonstrates how useful the organisation considers it to be.

According to Paul Kane, general manager of Internet One, the endorsements do not stop at the WIPO. The G7 announced their support for the idea early this year and several MEP's from the EC have been to see the project at its base in Dorset, UK.

But he added that European companies are taking a while to pick up on the idea - whereas those in Japan and US are adopting it more quickly. "We did plan this as a European service but seeing as they've been least interested it has become more global," he said.