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This message was forwarded to you from ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com) by [EMAIL PROTECTED] Comment from sender: If you have Peter's email address.. Pass this on to him too.. --------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is from ZDNN (http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/). Visit this page on the Web at: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/zdnn_smgraph_display/0,4436,2149793,00.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- [IMAGE] By Lydia Zajc, Reuters October 15, 1998 7:30 AM PT TORONTO -- The world's smallest country, the south Pacific island of Tuvalu, hopes to undergo a Cinderella-like transformation from one of the globe's poorest nations to one of the wealthiest after hanging a "for sale" sign on its Internet name. A privately held Canadian company, The .TV Corporation, began on Wednesday to market Tuvalu's Internet domain name, the country code designation in World Wide Web addresses. They are hoping major television companies, producers, television personalities might and others want to own a Web site address that has the cachet of the ".tv" ending. Internet powers, specifically the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, granted Tuvalu the sign-off ".tv". Domain names already broadly in use -- ".com" for firms or ".ca" for Canada -- are rapidly being snapped up to the point where companies and individuals are looking for alternatives to come up with unique or catchy Web site addresses. Get rich quick The 9,000-odd inhabitants of the Polynesian microstate hope to eventually rank among the globe's richest people on a per capita basis because the bulk of the money earned from ".tv" will flow back to them. Tuvaluan Prime Minister Bikenibeu Paeniu said: "We are delighted this agreement will improve not only the Tuvaluan standard of living but permit us to help other South Pacific nations." And Tuvaluans will still have as many .tv designations as they need, said 28-year-old Jason Chapnik, head of the Canadian company which has a staff of less than 10. "We expect all of the major corporations to sign up," Chapnik said, including television, media, magazine, newspaper and film companies. "We are absolutely overwhelmed by the interest," Chapnik said. "It's just been staggering, world-wide." Well-planned Three years ago Chapnik began brainstorming with other Internet entrepreneurs and came up with the idea to approach Tuvalu and market its fortuitous designation. After weighing all potential partners, Tuvalu agreed. Companies can now surf to www.internet.TV, and register a name with a $1,000 deposit. If rivals sign up for the same moniker, the firm will auction them off starting Feb. 1, 1999. Speculators who attempt a superfluous claim to a name such as nbc.tv, hoping to resell it for a higher price, will be blocked by Chapnik and his band in the interest of fairness. Chapnik declined to divulge how much each Tuvaluan will earn from the sales as it tries on its new glass slipper of --------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1998 ZDNet. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of ZDNet is prohibited. ZDNet and the ZDNet logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Inc.
