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CentralNic’s CEO, Ben Crawford was recently interviewed about ICANN’s approval of new top level domain names.  Parts of the story and a link to the full text are shown below…

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The trusty old Internet addresses we know and love — the .coms, .nets, .orgs — are about to get some new competition.

Global Internet regulators met Monday in Singapore to finalize rules for a major expansion of “generic top-level domains,” that will clear the way for new offerings like .law, .coke or .nyc. Sites with those endings are expected to start rolling out late next year.

Way back in 2000, the organization decided to expand the domain-name system. Since then, it has gradually rolled out a handful of new domains, including the controversial .xxx domain that got the green light in March.
6 milestones in Web history

Early Monday ICANN approved a plan that will open the floodgates and accept hundreds of applications for new domains. Potential competition is keeping most organizations from disclosing their plans, but a few have gone public with their interest: .nyc, .paris, Unicef, Deloitte, Hitachi and Canon.

“The way things are now, technically anyone can buy a dot-com domain to imply a relationship with a brand,” says Ben Crawford, CEO of dotBrand Solutions, a recently launched consulting and services company…

Read the story… | Source: CNN | Date posted: 6/20/2011

(Note: Although I think it would be a great idea for them to do so, I’m not aware of Coke applying for a new TLD. The CNN interviewer just used that as the title of his article.)

Here is ICANN’s press release from just an hour ago…

ICANN Approves Historic Change to Internet’s Domain Name System
Board Votes to Launch New Generic Top-Level Domains

Singapore | ICANN’s Board of Directors has approved a plan to usher in one of the biggest changes ever to the Internet’s Domain Name System. The Board vote was 13 approving, 1 opposed, and 2 abstaining.

During a special meeting, the Board approved a plan to dramatically increase the number of Internet domain name endings — called generic top-level domains (gTLDs) — from the current 22, which includes such familiar domains as .com, .org and .net.

“ICANN has opened the Internet’s naming system to unleash the global human imagination. Today’s decision respects the rights of groups to create new Top Level Domains in any language or script. We hope this allows the domain name system to better serve all of mankind,” said Rod Beckstrom, President and Chief Executive Officer of ICANN.

New gTLDs will change the way people find information on the Internet and how businesses plan and structure their online presence. Internet address names will be able to end with almost any word in any language, offering organizations around the world the opportunity to market their brand, products, community or cause in new and innovative ways.

“Today’s decision will usher in a new Internet age,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of ICANN’s Board of Directors. “We have provided a platform for the next generation of creativity and inspiration.”

The decision to proceed with the gTLD program follows many years of discussion, debate and deliberation with the Internet community, business groups and governments. The Applicant Guidebook, a rulebook explaining how to apply for a new gTLD, went through seven significant revisions to incorporate more than 1,000 comments from the public. Strong efforts were made to address the concerns of all interested parties, and to ensure that the security, stability and resiliency of the Internet are not compromised.

ICANN will soon begin a global campaign to tell the world about this dramatic change in Internet names and to raise awareness of the opportunities afforded by new gTLDs. Applications for new gTLDs will be accepted from 12 January 2012 to 12 April 2012.