Finally one strange thing to hear from Google that it has applied for its own top level domain names including .google and .youtube under a program to expand the number of Web suffixes beyond the commonly used .com and .org. This was confirmed by the company in a statement. Google‘s the world’s largest search engine owner, also applied for other suffixes such as .docs and .lol under the program run by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the nonprofit organization that manages the Internet’s address system. The company is applying for such domains because it reflect its trademarks related to its core business, or will improve user experience.
Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist, said in a post on the company’s blog Thursday that .youtube domain could make it easier to identify channels and genres on Google’s YouTube video-sharing website, Cerf said. In addition to it he also said that the .lol domain, mimicking the text-message shorthand for “laugh out loud,” has interesting and creative potential. “We’re just beginning to explore this potential source of innovation on the Web,” Cerf said. “By opening up more choices for Internet domain names, we hope people will find options for more diverse – and perhaps shorter – signposts in cyberspace.”
Google has now become one of the first large companies to publicly state an interest in the top-level domain program, which is opposed by more than 40 companies including General Electric and Coca-Cola that say it will increase their costs, confuse consumers, and spark Internet fraud.
