Hong Kong, 25 January 2008 – DotAsia Organization is pleased to announce today the historical smooth completion of the first batch of domain auctions for the .Asia “Sunrise” (i.e. priority registration period intended for intellectual property rights owners).

The auctions turned out to be a massive success compared to previous chaotic rushes for domain names that leave brand owners frustrated. The average price for the first batch of contended auctions totaled over US$1500.00 per domain, with high bids for domain names reaching beyond a few ten-thousand dollars, signifying great interest from companies to invest into the new .Asia cyberspace. A total of over 600 domain names received more than one application during the first phase of Sunrise (Sunrise 2a) which totaled around 15,000 applications.

The remaining part of the .Asia registration is currently ongoing and is set to finish on January 31, 2008. This is the last chance for trademark owners around the world and registered companies in Asia to protect their names in .Asia before open public registrations begin on February 20, 2008.

The CEO .Asia said that “This is the first time ever an auction system is being used to resolve contention of domain name applications during the startup of a global top level domain registry. Unlike in the past where companies have to cram and rush in a chaotic race for the domains they want, the auction process allows a more rational, fair and calm approach. Companies are showing a great interest and willingness to retain the domain name of their choice.”

Some of the highlights of the auction action in the first week include www.tyco.asia’s bidding price which reached a surprising US$7600.00, whereas “extra.asia” closed at an equally surprising price of just US$10.00. Still ongoing auctions include “parliament.asia” with a current bid at US$5,200.00, and “next.asia” at US$1050.00. Other names “to watch” that will go into auction include well known brands such as “levis.asia” and “iphone.asia”. A live auction ticker is located on DotAsia’s website.

As it was thought, some of the really good names may go for a very small price. The launch of .Asia registry has given companies and domain investors the opportunity to enter the rapidly growing Asia market. It is not too late to make your investments in the most prestigious cyber real estate in Asia.