Dot-Whatsthatnow? Domains to Expand Way Beyond '.com.'

Big businesses will shell out for custom Internet domains in the next few years when hundreds of new suffixes become available to supplement .com, .gov, .org and others. Expect domains like .dupont, .exxon-mobil, .amex and .pepsico to flourish.

There'll be lots of generic domains, too. Look for .realtor, .food, .green, .wine, .nyc, .boston, .music, .hospital and others. They won't come cheap: The application fee will be $185,000. That will cover legal costs, processing fees, and the work needed to ensure that an applicant is legitimate and technologically capable of running a domain.

To stave off disputes about what company or organization will get a prized domain name -- .airline, for instance -- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit global traffic controller of Internet assignment matters, will aim to award proposed names to logical recipients, such as giving the domain .realtor to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), even if several firms bid for the rights.

The NAR would then be empowered to manage the domain and allow interested real estate agents, for a fee, to sign up and be part of the domain. It's expected that many companies in a given industry will want to be part of the custom domain to show customers and clients that they are legitimate industry players.

ICANN is expected to formally approve the initiative later this year and begin accepting proposals for custom domains in the first six months of next year. In some cases, ICANN will use an auction (after the application fee) to determine what company or organization may be awarded a favored domain name, such as .fourseasons for either the gourmet Four Seasons restaurant or the Four Seasons hotel chain. ICANN will retain the right to reject applications rather than get bogged down in endless disputes over names such as .islam or .einstein, or whether a proposed domain may be seen as offensive.