Tony 'Del Boy' Blair flogs second-hand domain names

The UK government has started selling off the domain names from bankrupt companies.

Through the Treasury Solicitor's Department website, bonavacantia.co.uk punters can get hold of names owned by companies that have gone into liquidation.

At the moment names available for auction include science.co.uk and chocoholics.co.uk. But the least you can pay is £750. Domains will not be sold unless they reach a reserve price of £500 plus a £250 processing charge (plus VAT, of course). Bids for the 50-plus names could go higher than this.

Ecommerce legal specialist Jonathan Armstrong told silicon.com he has his reservations about the scheme. He said there should be different rules for domain names in contrast with other company assets.

He said: "If you're selling off something like a desk, it and its original invoice are tangible items - they can be seen. A domain name is more like a leasehold and there should be significant due diligence before buying one."

Armstrong said this is because ownership of the domain name could expire while in the possession of the Treasury Solicitor's department.

However, Jonathan Robinson, business development director of NetBenefit, said that Nominet, the organisation that manages the registration of UK level domains names, wouldn't be too heavy-handed in this situation.

He told silicon.com: "Nominet is not particularly aggressive about deleting names. Although the services associated with the domain would cease, deletion does not happen that soon after expiry."

He added: "It's great to get these names freed-up and into the public domain again. It also validates domain names as a corporate asset."

Get your second-hand domain names here http://www.bonavacantia.co.uk or http://www.auctionurls.co.uk/