Two Australian cities are competing for the right to be the first to operate a generic top-level domain (gTLD).
Local authorities in Sydney and Melbourne are fighting it out for the honor, which is possible as a result of recently-adopted rules.
According to The Australian, the New South Wales Premier’s Office has confirmed that it wishes to establish .sydney as a TLD.
“If approved by government, the successful tenderer will assist in applying to ICANN to secure the .sydney TLD and operate it,” a spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the City of Melbourne is pressing ahead with plans for a .melbourne suffix, with the authority “actively considering” an application to the Internet names regulator.
A number of global cities including New York -– which hopes to establish a .nyc TLD -– are also set to take advantage of the new ICANN regime.
Until recently, domain name registrants have had access to just 21 TLDs, including .com, .net and .info, as well as a larger pool of country codes.