The Victorian Government and City of Melbourne today joined a host of Melbourne business leaders and the cast of the multi award-winning musical ONCE to officially launch .melbourne web addresses as the city’s new home online.

From 10am Wednesday 12 November, all eligible Victorians and service providers to the State are able to register a domain name ending in .melbourne on a first-come, first-served basis.

“ARI Registry Services on behalf of the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne is proud to launch this digital asset for use by all Victorians,” said Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services—the company contracted to run the technology and manage .melbourne.

“The .melbourne domain name will offer individuals and businesses big and small the opportunity to align themselves online with the world’s most liveable city.”

City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle believes that the innovation is something Melburnians should be proud of.

“We should own our domain name. Now we do. I hope people use it proudly,” said the Lord Mayor.

Businesses and individuals will have the chance to join .melbourne ambassadors, such as The Father Bob Maguire Foundation and Eureka Sky Deck Group, in making digital history and taking advantage of the benefits that .melbourne domain names provide.

Father Bob Maguire said that the new namespace is an effective way for community groups to further align themselves with the areas they support.

“The Father Bob Maguire Foundation is here to assist and care for all in the Melbourne community, to ensure no one is left behind. It makes sense that our online home is reflective of our connection to Melbourne and its people. We hope our locally relevant web address raises further awareness for underprivileged Melburnians and makes this great city even better,” said Father Bob Maguire.

Similarly, Eureka Sky Deck’s Executive General Manager, John Forman encouraged businesses to make the online move and register a .melbourne web domain.

“As an iconic Melbourne tourist attraction, we want to make it as easy as possible for tourists and locals to find our website and relevant information. It’s our belief a .melbourne domain will optimise the Eureka Sky Deck’s online presence and make us more geographically relevant to our customers,” said Mr Forman.

Other ambassadors and early adopters of .melbourne domain names include the Flower Drum Restaurant (www.flowerdrum.melbourne), Bank of Melbourne (www.bank.melbourne), Marriner Group (www.theatres.melbourne), Sausages Made Simple (www.salami.melbourne), Melbourne Festival (www.festival.melbourne), Melbourne by Bike (www.biketours.melbourne) and Destination Melbourne (www.destination.melbourne).

“Melbourne businesses and individuals can now register for any domain name they want and show their online affiliation to the city they love. The .melbourne domain will also enable internet users to feel confident that they are dealing with genuine and trusted entities every time they look at a .melbourne website,” said Mr Kinderis.

For those interested in registering a .melbourne web address or to find out more information, please visit www.live.melbourne.