A new "dot-post" Internet address is being set up which aims to separate the electronic services increasingly offered by postal services around the world.

Backers said that by restricting the ".post" domain name to postal agencies or groups that provide postal services would instil trust in Web sites using such names. Compared to popular suffixes such as ".com" and ".org" that are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Internet's key oversight agency, ICANN is trying to work out contract terms for .post with the U.N. Universal Postal Union. Approval could come as early as mid-February and implementation several months later.

Dot-post is an extension of the innovation currently happening in the postal agencies. They are investigating services that are looking for alternative ways to add value to communications.

Some of the services unveiled and proposed around the world included electronic postmarks, online billing and payments and hybrid mail -- when a digital document gets printed by the postal service and delivered as paper, or when physical mail gets scanned into an electronic document for delivery.

If the .post extension gets approved, the U.N. postal agency would assign domain names under it to individual national agencies, which would then be allowed to give out sub-domains to contractors and other service providers.

The postal union submitted there application for ".post" in March 2004. ICANN gave it a tentative OK that October, but final approval has been delayed due to the structure of the U.N. agency -- one requiring unique contract terms.

ICANN has said it may start a new round of applications later this year.