Internet Body Approves Plans for 2 Suffixes

The Internet’s governing body approved plans to make two new Internet suffixes available, giving Web site owners an alternative to the crowded “.com” domain space.

The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers said it had reached agreements to integrate domains “.biz” and “.info” into its addressing system. NeuLevel Inc. of Sterling, Va., will restrict .biz addresses to commercial businesses and Afilias, a consortium of 18 domain registrars, will make .info available to the public for any purpose.

In November, ICANN selected seven new domain names to join the likes of .com, .org and .net. Agreements with the operators of the remaining five domains are expected shortly, ICANN said.

The accreditation means NeuLevel and Afilias can begin the process of making addresses available.