NEW YORK - Proposals for Internet addresses ending in ".pizza," ".space" and ".auto" are among the nearly 2,000 submitted as part of the largest expansion in the online address system.
Apple Inc.,
Sony Corp. and
American Express Co. are among companies that sought names with their brands.
Google Inc. and
Amazon.com Inc. sought dozens of names, including ".app," and ".play." The wine company Gallo Vineyards Inc. wants ".barefoot."
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announced the proposals for Internet suffixes, the ".com" part of an Internet address, Wednesday. They now go through a review process that could take months or years.
Here are some questions and answers regarding plans to expand the Internet address system:
Q. What are domain names?
A. Think of them as shortcuts for navigating the Internet. Just as it's easier to find the Empire State Building at
350 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan rather than through its GPS coordinates, it's easier to type in "google.com" rather than remember "173.194.79.99." Google and other search engines have reduced the need for domain names. But these search engines are essentially catalogs of the Internet, and they depend on the domain name to take you to what you're looking for. Also, domain names aren't used only for websites. The part after the "at" symbol in email addresses is the domain name...