New .香港 Chinese language domain names

[bdw]

I just got an invite from the HKIRC (HK Internet Registration Corporation) to sign up for a free chinese domain name with chinese characters (.香港). Does anyone know what this is all about? It this some new internet standard? I dont recall seeing these types of names before. Wont this make it hard for people without chinese input devices to access a chinese web site?

Below is the invite I got today:

Dear customer,

As a valued customer of English .hk domain name, you are cordially invited to register a free Chinese .香港 domain name of the equivalent category during the Pre-Launch Priority Registration (“PLPR”) period from 22 February to 10 March, 2011.

The newly registered Chinese .香港 domain name will be “bundled” with your English .hk domain name. That means these two domain names will be renewed together in the future for the price of one.

The full Chinese .香港 domain name is easy to remember and eliminates language barrier. The availability of both traditional and simplified Chinese helps your business tap into the potential Greater China market and enhances your brand recognition.

Click here to register your free Chinese .香港domain name by 10 March 2011. You can also log in your account at www.hkdnr.hk to register.

Should you have any enquiries, please contact us on +852 2319 1313 or email to enquiry@hkdnr.hk or contact your agent for help.

Best regards,
Marketing Department
Hong Kong Domain Name Registration Company Limited
Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited
Website: www.hkdnr.hk

[Fenix2]

Those domains are useless...

[aliendavid1]

looks like a scam to me, but call them.

[Fenix2]

they have to give them away... when people can't input the chinese they enter something like.

xj---jasdjfas.xj---afasdfasdf
^^domain ^^^^ the hk in chinese

an eye sore...

[bdw]

Its not a scam. I manage some .HK domains and I've logged in to HKDNR before to modify my domain (eg change DNS servers etc) and I would get an email straight after from this same addresss to confirm my changes.

Looks like now the internet gods are creating new .香港 names. (For those who dont know, those two chinese characters say Hong Kong). So instead of .HK, you can create .香港 addresses (I assume the bit before the dot can also be in chinese characters now).

[aliendavid1]

Lets get ready to domain park! money in the bank.

is www.hsbc.香港 taken?

[Fenix2]

Many years ago one of our customers registered and hosted, hsbc.com on the servers of the ISP I use to work for.

[virago]

Isn't it the Chinese are trying to get their own registration thing happening? That is trying to create their own proprietary ownership to get around US dominance? I remember them trying to have a new DVD format. Never took off.

[PDLM]

It's all legit, and it's all within the evolution of the standard Top Level Domain structure. Start here: Internationalized country code top-level domain - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Raccon]

Lets get ready to domain park! money in the bank.

is www.hsbc.香港 taken?

If it gotta be 香港上海滙豐銀行有限公司.香港, or in short 獅子銀行.香港