RUMBLE OVER .AMAZON JUNGLE

One of the biggest domain disputes ever is taking place between online retailer giants Amazon.com inc and the South American government over the legal rights to the domain name .amazon. The Brazilian and Peruvian governments, whose combined rainforest equates to 73% of the world’s forests, have stated it “would prevent the use of this domain for purposes of public interest relating to the protection, promotion and awareness, raising on issues related to the Amazon biome”. Online retailers Amazon.com Inc. however, have already bid $185,000 for the domain name. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has issued an early warning to Amazon.com inc. asking their reasoning behind registering the domain. Amazon.com inc is yet to respond. The situation really shows how valuable domains are. Historically, domain names have always referred to a generic description such as .net or a geographical region such as .co.uk. All the new domain names have opened this up to be a lot more commercial. Who do you think should be given ownership of the domain?