[http://www.icann.org/images/gradlogo_bow.jpg]<http://www.icann.org/> News Alert http://www.icann.org/en/news/announcements/announcement-2-21jan14-en.htm ________________________________ Largest Domain Name Expansion in Internet's History Reaches Benchmark 100 New Generic Top Level Domains Delegated Into Internet 21 January 2014 Los Angeles, California… ICANN's Generic Domains Division today announced that the number of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) delegated into the Internet's Root Zone has topped 100. Delegation is one of the final steps before the Registries that control the domains may begin accepting registrations for names that will use the new gTLDs. "There are now almost five times more generic Top-Level Domains than there were only a few months ago and that translates to greater consumer choice," said Akram Atallah, President of ICANN's Global Domains Division. "We are as eager as everyone else to see what type of innovation these new Domains will usher into the online world." This massive expansion of the Domain Name System (DNS) represents one of the greatest changes to the Internet since its inception. "This is an historic milestone for ICANN's New gTLD Program and the Internet as a whole," said Christine Willett, Vice President of gTLD Operations. "The year ahead will be defined by new opportunities in a vastly expanding online landscape." In addition to the new delegations, over 200 Registry Agreements (RA) have been signed by new gTLD applicants. Signing an agreement allows applicants to move onto the final stages of the Program and prepare for delegation into the DNS. ICANN will continue to delegate new generic Top-Level Domains on a regular basis. Further Reading * Blog Post: 100 gTLDs in the Internet, Thousands of New Ideas<http://blog.icann.org/2014/01/100-new-gtlds-in-the-internet-thousands-of-new...>