SINGAPORE, 25 NOVEMBER 2009 - Singapore government agencies can now register for Chinese language domain names.
The Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), the national registry for domain names, is now accepting initial registrations for these.
The SGNIC said businesses and consumers can also look forward to using Chinese characters in their website address to better reach their customers or friends who prefer Chinese Web addresses.
The launch of Chinese domain names follows a slew of new domain name choices offered in Singapore in the past two years, including the release of single-character and pure numeric domain names. Other countries, especially where English is not the primary language, such as China, Japan and South Korea, have started using domain names in their primary languages
Greater choice
SGNIC general manager Lim Choon Sai said: "SGNIC hopes to give users greater choices and also add to the range of domain names available here. We believe this is timely given the growing interest, especially among businesses here, to reach the Chinese markets, which may feel more comfortable using their own language."
This move opens up new options for domain names, as anyone can soon register for Web addresses so their target market or audience can better identify with them.
Staged introduction
SGNIC will offer these Chinese domain names at both second and third levels in all categories (namely, .sg, .com.sg, .gov.sg, .org.sg, .edu.sg, .net.sg, .per.sg).
SGNIC said it will continue to monitor market demand and developments and consider offering domain names in other languages.
