An increase in the number of gTLDs - from the current 22, which includes such familiar domains as .com, .org and .net – is being put into effect from January 12, 2012. Website operators will, from that date, be able to apply for new gTLDs from ICANN on payment of an evaluation fee.

ICANN has maintained that, in a world with over 1.6bn internet users, diversity, choice and competition are essential to the continued success and reach of the global network, and that the expansion of the gTLD space will allow for a greater degree of such objectives.

It has been pointed out that it 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 ways.

It is also confirmed that the decision to proceed with the gTLD programme follows more than seven years of discussion, debate and deliberation with the internet community, business groups and governments; and that ICANN has made substantial efforts to address the concerns of all interested parties, and to ensure that the security, stability and resiliency of the internet are not compromised.

From January 12, ICANN has therefore begun to accept applications for new gTLDs. Applicants will use the TLD Application System (TAS) to submit their application, in which they answer fifty questions detailed in an Applicant Guidebook. The last day to register in TAS will be March 29, and the final day that ICANN will accept applications will be April 12.

ICANN has also instituted an Applicant Support Programme (ASP), offering limited financial assistance to qualifying applicants. Through the ASP, applicants, especially from developing economies, have access to financial assistance in the form of an evaluation fee reduction and other in-kind or community pro bono services.

The financial assistance element of the ASP will allow a limited number of qualifying applicants to pay a USD47,000 evaluation fee, instead of the full USD185,000. This fee reduction has been made possible because ICANN's Board of Directors has dedicated USD2m to the programme.

In a letter to ICANN last month, the United States Federal Trade Commission (FSC) had warned that rapid expansion of the number of gTLDs could create a "dramatically increased opportunity for consumer fraud", and make it easier for scam artists to manipulate the system to avoid being detected by law enforcement authorities. It had urged ICANN – before approving any new gTLD applications – to take additional steps to protect consumers, starting with a pilot programme to work out potential problems.

However, in more recent remarks to the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., Lawrence E. Strickling, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, said that, despite continuing concerns from some industry members, he had not demanded that ICANN should abandon its plans in a further, more recent, letter. He had, instead, urged ICANN to work to mitigate those concerns and that, following the application period, ICANN should use the data that will then be available to examine the potential scope of the gTLD programme, and to consider if there is a need for its phased implementation.

He added that it is possible that new gTLDs, “in addition to facilitating the expansion of the internet in local languages and offering a platform for entrepreneurs, could help in meeting some of the internet’s biggest challenges. For example, in a meeting with content providers last week, we learned about the potential that new top level domains might have to combat the serious problem of online piracy. ICANN could require that the rules for a .music or .movie TLD domain be constructed to assure consumers they are not downloading pirated content.”

In its reply to Strickling’s letter, ICANN has itself committed to review possible improvements to the programme, “specifically to deal with the perceived need for defensive registrations at the top-level", and to effect a series of work streams that will facilitate more effective tools for law enforcement and consumer protection.