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Pre-Registration for new .Pro Top Level Domain names to run from July 21 through August 31, 2008. Firm relaunch date of .Pro TLD set for September 8, 2008

RegistryPro, the exclusive operator of the .Pro top-level domain (TLD) on the Internet, announced today it will begin accepting pre-reservations for .Pro domain names from new registrants from July 21 through August 31, 2008. This Pre-Registration Period is the second phase of the registry's highly anticipated transition to new registration parameters. Originally scheduled for July, the new relaunch date for .Pro has now been confirmed for September 8, 2008.

New Relaunch Date of September 8, 2008

"Due to unanticipated levels of interest in the .Pro relaunch and requests from nearly all of our registrars, we decided to move our 'go live' date from July 14 to September 8," said Catherine Sigmar, general manager of RegistryPro. "The new registration guidelines for 'stand alone' resolving .Pro second level domains was approved by ICANN in April, but we want to roll this out intelligently."

"This relaunch effort had already built up considerable momentum before we decided to push the date out to September," said Matt Buckland, director of operations for RegistryPro. "We experienced our most significant growth in new registrars over the last two months, and we decided the additional time would ensure that all our registrars were prepared."

"But the response from potential registrants has been one of anticipation mixed with frustration," continued Buckland, "and even some of our registrars expressed concern about the delay. After making the change to the launch schedule, RegistryPro received tremendous feedback demanding access to the TLD before September 8. Our Pre-Registration Period should answer these concerns."

Phase One - Third Level Transition Initiative Launched June 12, 2008

As the first phase of the roll out, existing .Pro registrants have been able to submit pre-orders for second-level domains since June 12, 2008. Cognizant of the need to protect current registrants, this initial Third Level Transition period was designed to provide existing customers to have the advantage in acquiring their new domains. The Third Level Transition initiative allowed third-level registrants to acquire one of two pre-defined registrations types: Exact String Match or PSSLD (Profession Specific Second Level Domain) Match. For example, "mikejonessmith.law.pro" would be eligible for one of two domains:

Exact Match: mikejonessmith.pro
PSSLD Match: mikejonessmithlaw.pro

The TLT Period will run through September 5, 2008. For more information about this initiative, visit www.registry.pro/tlt/.

Phase Two - Pre-Registration Period Launches July 21, 2008

"As a concession to prospective registrants and to registrars who are prepared from a technical standpoint for the relaunch, we are enabling pre-registrations from July 21 through August 31," explained Sigmar. "These domains will be issued initially as non-resolving domains. We will convert all pre-registered domains to Second Level Resolving Domains (SLRDs) once the registry begins accepting the SLRDs on September 8."

For example, during the Pre-Registration Period, a new registrant can reserve a non-resolving domain such as marywhitecpa.pro, and on September 8, that name will automatically convert to an SLRD.

Current registrants in the .Pro TLD can contact their sponsoring registrar for further information. Prospective registrants can contact any authorized .Pro registrar listed at http://registry.pro/partners_findaregistrar.htm. More information may also be obtained by visiting RegistryPro's Web site at http://www.registry.pro/.

About RegistryPro
RegistryPro, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hostway Corporation, operates the .Pro top-level domain (TLD,) an Internet registry exclusively for licensed professionals and entities. RegistryPro enables professionals around the world to distinguish themselves on the Internet by using the .Pro extension.

Contact:
Catherine Sigmar
General Manager
RegistryPro
(312) 416-0294 x260
pr [at] registry [dot] pro

Lyza Swearingen Latham
Director of Marketing
Hostway Corporation
(954) 334-8139
publicity [at] hostway [dot] com

Related topics: Domain Names, Domain Registries, ICANN, Top-Level Domains