Technology: `.Asia` auctions fetches over US$3 mln

".Asia" Hot-or-Not Contest First Weekly Prize Winning Domain: resorts.asia GMA2008.Asia Attracts Millions of Hits, Drives ".Asia" Adoption

Hong Kong, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - DotAsia Organisation announced today total registration for ".Asia" domains are expected to exceed a quarter of a million by the end of the first quarter after its public launch. Proceeds from the ".Asia" Sunrise and Landrush auctions have already exceeded US$3M and rising, demonstrating strong demand and growth value for ".Asia" domains.

"Registrants competing for unique ".Asia" domain names in a fair and calm process is proof the auction mechanism is better for facilitating an orderly and stable introduction of the ".Asia" domain into the social and technical fabric of the Internet, than the chaotic first-come-first-serve model," says Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia. "We are equally excited that the ".Asia" auctions have already reached US$3M, with about two-thirds of Landrush auctions still to go." So far highest-priced auctions have reached beyond US$80,000, with top 100 averaging over US$10,000, including promotion.asia (US$26,000) and sushi.asia (US$22,500).

Earlier, DotAsia launched the Hot-or-Not Domain Appraisal Contest rewarding US$15,000 to anyone who identify the domain fetching the highest auction price. Last week the first of 5 Weekly Prizes of US$1,000 found its winner. The winning contestant correctly identified the winning domain: "resorts.asia", and was most accurate in his appraisal for the winning price at US$20,000 (the actual price was US$22,501). While we congratulate the winner, the contest continues with 4 more Weekly Prizes of US$1,000 each and a Grand Prize of US$10,000. Enter to win, find expert opinions and check out the live auction ticker at: http://www.think.asia.

Adoption of the ".Asia" domain is showing signs of new vigour. Of the over 30,000 global brands registering their ".Asia" during Sunrise, many are beginning to setup Asia content on their site, e.g. sonyericsson.asia, levis.asia, oce.asia etc. Earlier Kenny G's Asia tour utilized http:// www.KennyGLive.asia, while Stephen Chow's latest movie adopted the http://www.CJ7.asia web address. The latest to join this trend is GMA2008.asia, the official website for this year's Golden Melody Awards, the Grammies of Mandarin-pop music. The site houses an online poll for the hottest Chinese stars and is drawing millions of hits from fans across Asia. This means awareness of the ".Asia" domain for millions of users typing in http://www.GMA2008.asia to their browsers.

Contact:
Pavan Budhrani
+852-3741-0015
SOURCE DotAsia Organisation

Technology: `.Asia` Hot-or-Not Contest launches: US$15,000 cash prize!

Identify the ".Asia" Domain Fetching Highest Auction Price to Win!

Hong Kong, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - DotAsia Organisation officially announces the ".Asia" Hot-or-Not Domains Appraisal Contest. Identify the ".Asia" domain fetching the highest auction price in the ".Asia" Sunrise and Landrush Auctions and walk away with US$15,000 cash prize. Since its soft launch earlier, entries have already been received around the world at the contest website: http://www.think.asia, demonstrating the global appeal of the ".Asia" domain.

"It is a fun contest for everyone. We believe it will help raise public awareness on the investment opportunities in the blooming cyber real estate market and give the pros a chance to win bragging rights over the art of domain appraisals," said Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia.

Since the public opening of the ".Asia" domain in March, there has been a growing amount of interest. "We are excited to see China, India and Australia among the driving forces of adoption of the ".Asia" domain for the Asia market. While global brands such as SonyEricsson.Asia establish anchor sites, the adoption by small businesses expanding to the Asia market exemplifies the solid growth value of ".Asia" domains," adds Chung.

Revolutionizing the chaotic rush characteristic of previous domain land grabs, DotAsia, the not-for-profit organisation overseeing the ".Asia" registry adopted an auction process for domains receiving more than one qualifying application during the initial launch period. The investment value of ".Asia" domains immediately began to be realized as auctions for popular domains such as sushi.asia and sales.asia reached tens of thousands of dollars while other top winning bids fetched over US$80,000. Recent public auction results such as pizza.com for US$2.6M and Chinese.com for US$1.1M fuels further speculation. The value of toy.asia or coffee.asia could be limitless over time but now everyone has the chance to succeed in the Hot or Not Contest.

Figure out which ".Asia" domain fetches the highest auction price and what price it would be and take home the cash prize! The contest includes 5 weekly prizes of US$1000 each and a grand prize of US$10,000. For those who are not domain investment pros, DotAsia is also providing expert appraisal reports and commentaries from Ename, Sedo, EuroDNS and Pool.com at the contest blog at http://www.think.asia. A live ticker showing auction bids is also available at the site.

Media Contact:
Pavan Budhrani
Tel: +852-3741-0015
Email: pavan@registry.asia
SOURCE: DotAsia Organisation

`.Asia` go live kicks off: millions of high value domains

-DotAsia Announces 'Hot or Not' Contest, Invites Everyone to Participate in '.Asia' Auctions! -'Cyberport.Asia' Launches to Exemplify Hong Kong as Asia's World City

Hong Kong, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - DotAsia Organisation announces Go Live of the ".Asia" registry, signifying the start of first-come-first-served registrations, allowing anyone around the world to get their ".Asia" domain instantaneously.

"With over 10 million domains registered in China alone and over 150 million worldwide, the potential for ".Asia" is only now starting to be realized. There are millions of great ".Asia" domains still available on a first-come-first-served basis," says Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia.

During the earlier Sunrise and Landrush phases, .Asia already received over 500,000 domain registration applications. About 45,000 domains received more than one application, and will go to auction. This proved to be successful in reducing the chaos created in previous domain launches as registrants clamour for high value domains.

"The '.Asia' launch has demonstrated a management team committed to balancing the protection of rights while encouraging demand and adoption," says Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of ICANN.

"The success of the '.Asia' launch will pave the way and set a new benchmark for future top-level-domain launches."

Among domains headed to auction are highly valuable names such as "buy.asia" and "hot.asia". A live ticker and further information is found at http://www.registry.asia/about auctions.html .

Engaging the public in some fun, DotAsia is launching a first-of-its-kind "Hot or Not" contest: Anyone can play to guess which ".Asia" domain will fetch the highest auction price and what that price might be. Details and prizes will be announced shortly and posted on http://www.think.asia .

"It should be an exciting contest! It will be interesting to see which '.Asia' domains people think are hot. I think there will be quite some surprises," adds Chung. "Through the contest, we hope to foster awareness of the '.Asia' domain and the appreciation of the value of a good name."

Among the first to recognize the value of ".Asia" is Hong Kong Cyberport, who announced today the launch of "www.Cyberport.asia".

"Adopting www.cyberport.asia as our online identity aligns us with Hong Kong's vision as Asia's World City, and our mission to be the hub of IT business in Hong Kong and around Asia," says Nicholas Yang, CEO of Cyberport.

Media Enquiries: Pavan Budhrani Tel: +852-3741-0015
Email: pavan@registry.asia

SOURCE DotAsia Organisation

COPYRIGHT © 2008

`.Asia` Landrush closes with half a million domain name applications

Buy.Asia with most Applications in Landrush; Sex.Asia with most Applications in Sunrise

Hong Kong (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - DotAsia Organisation announced today that a total of 473,633 domain registration applications were received within the 3-week Landrush period. Including Sunrise and '.Asia' Pioneer Domains, the number of applications totals to over half a million: 505,838. '.Asia' registry will Go Live on March 26, domain names will be available on a First-Come-First-Served basis.

"The results exceeded our expectations. We are very pleased with the enthusiastic demand for the '.Asia' domain. This is a testament to the global interest in the thriving Asia Internet marketplace, and the investment appeal for the most prestigious cyber real-estate in Asia," says Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia.
"It will be interesting to see which of the domain names would fetch the highest prices in the auction. I believe we could be in for some surprises."

45,697 domains received more than one application in Landrush and will go to auction. Out of which, "buy.asia" was the most sought after, with over 400 applicants fighting for the name. Others in the top 5 include: hot.asia, gold.asia, fun.asia, girl.asia. 1,051 domain names received more than one application during Sunrise. Among which, "sex.asia" received the most Sunrise applications, with 14 prior-right claims filed. A live ticker and the latest auction results can be found on http://www.registry.asia .

The top registrar in the .Asia Landrush was AsiaDNS (http://www.asiadns.asia). Others in the top-10 include: Dotalliance (http://www.dotalliance.asia ), Communigal Communications (http://www.galcomm.asia), GoDaddy.com, Key-Systems (http://www.domaindiscount24.asia), Gabia, HiChina Web Solutions, DomainPeople (http://www.domainpeople.asia), Yesnic and NamesBeyond.com. ".Asia opened great opportunities for AsiaDNS.

Even with high expectations, our results nearly doubled our expectations! We were able to attract new customers from around the world who understands the value of a .Asia domain." said Frederick Schiwek, EVP of AsiaDNS.

About DotAsia Organisation:

DotAsia Organisation is a not-for-profit, community-based organisation incorporated in Hong Kong. Asia has developed into a global force in the international commercial, political and cultural network. The '.Asia' domain aspires to embrace this dynamism in the Asia Century to become a nucleus, intersection and breeding ground for Internet activity and development in the region. Visit: http://www.registry.asia for more information.

Media Enquiries:
Pavan Budhrani
Tel:
+852-3741-0015
Email: pavan@registry.asia
SOURCE DotAsia Organisation

COPYRIGHT © 2008