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Starting today, the general public is invited to register .mobi domain names. The first and only top level domain dedicated to delivering Internet content to mobile devices, .mobi sites make using the Internet on a mobile phone faster, less expensive and more reliable by offering tailored content for mobile devices. General Registration begins with Landrush on September 26, followed by Standard General Registration on October 11.

"The general availability of .mobi domains represents another step forward in making the mobile internet a reality for millions of consumers around the world," said Andrew McLelland, director of projects and marketing at Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG), the industry body for e-tailing, representing all electronic channels in the marketplace.

Consumers have agreed that the traditional Internet experience on a mobile phone has presented a myriad of challenges with slow Web site downloads and difficult navigation. Now everyone has the chance to revolutionise and optimise the mobile Internet experience by registering their .mobi domain names and creative .mobi sites.

"We think the .mobi designation has the potential to help consumers find the content they are looking for on their mobile devices," said Roger Neal, BusinessWeek Online senior vice president and general manager.

dotMobi has established best practices, style sheets, standards and tools to make sure the dotMobi experience is consistent and easy to use, for both consumers and site designers. To make creating Web sites for mobile Internet functional and reliable, the dotMobi Switch On!™ Guide for Web Development contains rules and best practices based on open standards. The dotMobi Switch On! Guide ensures that Web sites can be viewed and navigated by any mobile phone.

"In the past, using the Internet on a mobile device presented huge obstacles for the consumer," said Neil Edwards, CEO of dotMobi. "We're creating a link between mobile operators, Internet content providers and the millions of mobile users seeking a consistent, reliable and enjoyable Internet experience."

A .mobi site offers a predictably higher quality experience on any mobile device than currently exists, by simplifying the pages that are downloaded, as well as speeding the delivery of mobile services. According to the GSM Association, more people in the world have access to an Internet ready mobile device than a PC with Internet access, and by 2008, researchers expect 1.3 billion people to be connected to the Internet through mobile devices. Increasingly more important, global recognition of mobile enhanced content can promote use of mobile content and services, providing a framework that will help streamline the deployment of new Internet sites and services.

The list of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) accredited registrars for dotMobi domain names can be found at: http://dotmobi.mobi/registrar.

For more information on .mobi domains and how to register .mobi domains, visit http://dotmobi.mobi. Visit the dotMobi blog at http://blog.mobi.

Related topics: DNS, Domain Names, Domain Registries, Mobile, Top-Level Domains