DotAsia Organisation, the first global “top-level domain” in Asia, officially launched “Landrush” for the ".asia" Internet domain on February 20th 2008, open for registrations by anyone around the world.
".asia" is expected to become a platform for growth for Asia, and a gateway to reach the largest Internet marketplace in the world.

Over 30,000 applications had been filed for ".asia" domain names since October, compared with around 330,000 at the same point in the launch of the .eu domain name in April 2006, due to the fact that its registration had been restricted exclusively to applications from governments and organizations.

Domain name registrar NetNames warned that opening ".asia" to the general public means that businesses are now at risk of losing online trademarks to competitors or cyber-squatters.

"The alarm bells should be ringing for any company which has yet to secure its trademarks in ".asia""

said Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer at NetNames.

"As of today, there is far less protection for company trademarks and it is open season on the .asia domain name for cyber-squatters, online speculators and competitors."

Robinson added that demand for .asia has been understated, which means that many businesses are likely to miss out.

"As the first ".asia" sites go live we are sure to see a number of high-profile, costly disputes which could so easily have been avoided,"

Applications for the new domain were staggered over three time periods in an attempt to avoid the confusion and chaos surrounding the .eu domain launch.

1. The first period began on 9 October for government bodies and companies with registered trademarks.
2. The second period began on 13 November when registration opened to those companies with an official presence in Asia, regardless of trademarks. Organisations which had already secured registered trademarks could then secure additional domain names related specifically to their line of business.
3. The third and final period has now begun with registrations open to the general public.

A total of 266,663 applications were received by the registry within the first 24 hours, demonstrating great interest from around the world to stake claims in the most prestigious cyber real estate in Asia.
Any domain names with more than one application will be auctioned off to the highest bidder before .asia goes live on 26 March.
Domains with only one application will be allocated directly without auction.
You can keep updated on the ".asia" Domain Auction process at the DotAsia Domain Auctions page:
www.dotasia.org/about/auctions.html

You must apply during the Landrush period (Feb 20 – Mar 12, 2008) in order to be eligible to participate in the domain auctions.
To register a ".asia" domain name, you must go to an Accredited Registrar or their authorized resellers and affiliates.
1001webs.net offers registration of ".asia" Domain names through their Domain registration page at:
http://www.1001webs.net/en/domainsearch_en.html

1001webs.net is associated with Dotster.com, an ICANN Accredited Registrar, to offer through our registration pages all major top-level domains (TLDs) and many country-code extensions (ccTLDs).
We provide through our website secure and fast Domain Name Registration on the Internet, for the following international TLDs and country-specific ccTLDs.
For a list of all ICANN Accredited Registrars for ".asia" domain names., please refer to: http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html