ICANN is going to create hundreds of new domain name suffixes so as to dilute the attraction of .com and .net

The new domains will cover a wide range including regions and cities (.africa, .london and .tokyo), commerce (.news and .hotel), not-for-profit (.eco and .green) etc.

Many large companies have objected to the plans since it is seen as a potential risk to their trademarks and could cost a substantial amount – up to US$2 million – in new domain registrations to protect them.

Anyone wanting to set up one of the new domains is also going to have to pay a lot, starting with a basic US$185,000 fee to be paid to ICANN, and some of the names could result in bidding wars between rival interest groups.

The total number of registered domain names now exceeds 220 million.

[Source - Financial Times]