New York City Gets '.nyc ' Domain To Help City Businesses

New York City is to be the first city in the U.S. to get a unique, city-specific domain name. The new domain will allow city businesses and residents to register Web addresses and use email addresses ending with ".nyc."

Net address regulator Icann approved the city’s petition for the creation of the domain name.

Having its own unique, top-level domain – .nyc – puts New York City at the forefront of the digital landscape and creates new opportunities for small businesses,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement on Tuesday. New York's domain name is one of hundreds of new domain names that have passed an initial evaluation by the agency recently, including London, Istanbul and Paris.

The new domain's purpose is to make it easier to search online for organizations and content in New York City. Applications for Internet addresses using the new domain will be accepted from the public in late 2013, but they will require an annual fee.

www.mydotnyc.com has been established to help interested residents and businesses with the application process.

"With a new top-level domain name, New York won't just be the greatest city in the world -- we'll also be the greatest city on the Internet," New York City mayoral candidate Christine Quinn said.