KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Malaysian individuals and companies can now opt for the shorter ".my" website addresses - instead of the traditional ".com.my," says Mynic Bhd.
Mynic, provider of Internet registry and addressing services in Asia Pacific, has officially launched its second-level .my domain name service.
"We have 10,000 names (registered) since we began this service in March. Ninety per cent of these are companies and the remainder are individuals," said Shariya Zulkifli, director of Mynic.
Some of the prominent companies that have registered are Multimedia Development Corporation (custodian of the MSC Malaysia initiative), software maker Microsoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Maybank Bhd, oil and gas giant Petronas Sdn Bhd, and Sime Darby Bhd which manages oil-palm plantations.
"We normally get about 1,000 applications a month for .com.my addresses. But since we began the second-level domain service, applications for both addresses now total 3,000 a month," claimed Shariya.
It costs more to register for the shorter domain name - RM120 per registration, compared to just RM80 for the .com.my address.
"This is because .my is a premium service," explained Shariya. "It's short and snazzy."
It is the trend now for shorter website addresses because these are easier to remember, said Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) chairman Datuk Dr Halim Shafie in a speech read out by SKMM senior director Amarjit Singh at the event.
The .my domain may also make it possible for individuals and organisations that could not register under .com.my to get the addresses of their choice, according to Mynic.
Also, it said, the elimination of categorisation in the shorter domain name allows businesses and individuals to cut across industries and still be relevant online.
"It simplifies things. Take Germany, for instance, it only has second-level .de addresses," Shariya added.
Second-level domain names can only be signed up for by Malaysian citizens and businesses registered in the country.
