Free UAE domain for organisations

In a bid to increase the number of Internet sites registered under the ".ae" domain, the United Arab Emirates Network Information Centre (www.UAEnic.ae) will offer a free domain name to all educational institutes, government departments and non-profit organisations.

The format for the free domains will be www.name.sch.ae for schools, www.name.ac.ae for colleges and universities, www .name.gov.ae for government bodies, and www.name.org.ae for non-profit organisations.

Previously, the annual charge for these domains was Dh75.

"As the Internet becomes an integral part of our daily lives, it is our responsibility to ensure that we provide such bodies with a national identity online," said Abdullah Hashim, Manager, UAEnic.

"This allows customers and other visitors to have websites to distinguish them on the ever-expanding web. By using the '.ae' domain name companies, individuals and institutions automatically associate themselves with the UAE."

To qualify, the applicant will be asked to produce evidence of their official standing as one of the designated categories. Once the initial free domain has been given, subsequent domains will be charged at the normal registration and annual fee.

The announcement follows other initiatives from UAEnic to increase the number of sites registered under ".ae".

In May 2002, UAEnic reduced registration charges by up to 60 per cent and introduced a new domain name registration and dispute policy.

Further changes in October included the offering of ".ae" without any prefix for private individuals as well as commercial organisations. Previously, only companies and organisations could register ".ae" without a prefix.

"The introduction of free domains to national institutions is another example of UAEnic's determination promote the country's top-level domain," said Hashim.

"Our initiatives throughout this year have made the UAE the first country in the Middle East to gain endorsement from the World Intellectual Property Organi-sation (WIPO), the international organisation dedicated to promoting the use and protection of intellectual property. This is testament to our efforts."

The ".ae" domain is similar to country-specific domains such as ".co.uk" and allows Internet users to target those sites specifically associated with the UAE.

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