UK on web address buying spree

Growth of the UK's internet economy shows no sign of slowing down, with more than 150 UK web addresses registered every hour.

According to domain name registry Nominet, there are now more than 4.2 million registered dot-uk web addresses.

The registry said last year the number of dot-uk registrations averaged around 80,000 per month.

This has now risen to an average of 110,000 per month, which Nominet said is the equivalent of the entire population of Cheltenham each registering a new dot-uk address.

There are approximately 66.7 million domain names registered worldwide.

Research commissioned by Nominet found that almost half of UK web surfers (47 per cent) feel reassured that they can contact a dot-uk company easily, such as by telephone or mail, because they have a UK presence.

Slightly more than one-third also has their confidence in dot-uk websites boosted because they are expected to adhere to UK trade laws.

Nominet chief executive Lesley Cowley said in a statement: "The UK internet industry is experiencing substantial growth - as witnessed by the increase in registrations of dot-uk internet addresses.

"The combination of greater broadband take-up, and the established popularity of dot-uk domain names, demonstrates that the UK internet industry is more buoyant than ever."