New internet domain ‘.swiss’ officially launched

Swiss companies, as well as public and private organisations, can now apply for a domain name ending in “.swiss”. On Tuesday, Swiss communications minister Doris Leuthard announced that the Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) was accepting applications for domain names with the new ending. “It is a trusted platform that establishes unequivocally the link with Switzerland,” said Leuthard, noting that the new domain is not mandatory if organisations wish to keep the “.ch” status quo. OFCOM Director Philipp Metzger called the move a “revolution”. “Until now, in Swiss cyberspace, we have had the extension '.ch' for the country, which we all use. But there has never been anything like '.swiss'. It’s only the second time we’ve opened a domain specifically for Switzerland.” Until November 9, OFCOM will only consider applications from public and private organisations for trademarks registered with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), names ...