DUBLIN, Ireland— The company behind the .mobi movement plans to auction off thousands of domain names for Web sites dedicated for wireless use.
Top Level Domain Ltd. (also known as mTLD and DotMobi) released a 149-page document of “premium” names covering everything from types of sports (baseball, basketball and football) to gambling (casino) to pornography (celebrity sex, coeds and others). The company has already issued a list of names reserved for high-profile media companies and other brands.
“The main objective of the premium names list is to ensure content-rich DotMobi sites with new features and services for the mobile community,” said Neil Edwards, chief executive officer of mTLD. “We also look forward to seeing entrepreneurs participate in the development of content related to other thousands of premium names that will be made available to the general public.”
The company claims a mobile-exclusive domain name is needed as way of identifying sites that are created specifically for wireless users. Critics have called the move a “money grab,” however, pointing to technology that can determine which device is being used to access a site and format content appropriately.
