Final dates not set for for Chinese internationalized domain names.
Top level domain name company Donuts is currently running sunrise for four Chinese IDN domain names, but it has yet to set general availability dates for the four domains.
Some registrars had planned to offer the domains in general availability by the end of this year. But Donuts, in response to an inquiry from Domain Name Wire, said that it will hold off on general availability until it gets approved by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). This approval is necessary for Chinese residents to buy and subsequently host the domain names in China.
MIIT approved three Western top level domain name companies’ domains (.Club, .VIP and .XYZ) this week. New top level domain name companies hope that this opens up the floodgates for more approvals.
Donuts’ decision to hold off on general availability makes sense given the target market for its domains. Unlike some other domains targeted to China, Donuts will likely maintain relatively high prices. Its target is end users in China, and they will want to host their domains locally.
The four Donuts domain names are:
.游戏 xn--unup4y (games)
.企业 xn--vhquv (enterprises)
.娱乐 xn--fjq720a (entertainment)
.商店 xn--czrs0t (shop/store)
Steve says
Shop and games are nice. Too bad they will probably be way more expensive than the idn.com equivalent, $9.99/yr. Most of the traffic will probably bleed to the idn.com as well.
.com is the instinctive destination for people in all languages. 30 year head start.
Bb says
.NET also has a 30-year head start…