British firms are being offered the chance to use a new shortened .uk domain which will be more secure and tightly regulated than .co.uk web addresses.

Nominet, the not-for-profit organisation which oversees British web addresses, has launched a consultation on the introduction of .uk web addresses. 

The new domain names will sit alongside existing possibilities, including .co.uk, which currently has more than 10 million domains registered. 

Businesses will have to prove they are based in the UK to register a .uk domain and will receive a package of security services, including regular scans for viruses, hijacking and malware. 

They will also comply with DNSSECC, the technology which helps ensure browsers connect to websites securely. No such measures are in place for .co.uk addresses. 

The cost for registering these new domains will be significantly higher than they are for .co.uk ones, a reported £20 a year as opposed to £5 every two years. 

All businesses using existing .co.uk and .org.uk domain names would be granted unregistered rights under the proposed plans.  

The consultation period on the draft policy starts today and remains open until 7 January 2013.

“With the UK internet economy estimated to be worth £121bn and increasing, the matters of security, ease of use, and choice are becoming ever more important,” says Lesley Cowley, CEO of Nominet. 

“This new secure domain space would boost the growth of the UK internet economy. We are aware that it represents a significant change to the landscape of the.uk internet and we are committed to taking all points of view on board.”

Posted by

Smarayda Christoforou