High-profile country
codes .cc, .tv. and .ws join .com, .net, and .org, giving customers
more choices than ever before
Mountain View, CA, June 4, 2001 - VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN),
the leading provider of Internet trust services, today announced it
will begin featuring three popular "country code" Web extensions
on its domain name storefront at www.networksolutions.com. These new extensions - .cc, .tv,
and .ws
- reflect VeriSign's commitment to delivering the industry's broadest
array of services to help customers establish their Web presence. Coming
on the heels of the first official steps towards the introduction of
the seven new generic top-level domains (gTLDs), this move highlights
the availability of several new categories of useful, memorable Web
addresses for people and businesses around the world.
While .com domain names have been the standard since
the early days of the Internet, both domain name registrants and site
visitors alike have recently begun paying attention to what's "to
the right of the dot." Dot-cc, .tv, and .ws are among the most popular of the more than 200 country-code
TLDs available; combined, the three registries have over 600,000 registrations.
"VeriSign is the gateway for Internet users
who need a Web ID and other services to build their Web presence,"
said Doug Wolford, senior vice president and general manager, Web Presence
Services, VeriSign. "We believe expanding our domain name offerings
helps established and new businesses alike -- by giving customers multiple
ways to find existing companies and by giving new companies more options
to get the domain names they prefer."
The next wave of Web address registrations is expected
to be global, and country code domain names are only part of that expansion.
International domain names, written in character sets other than English-oriented
ASCII, allow users to acquire Web addresses in more than 350 languages.
Given the increasing number of Internet users who use languages other
than English, this move will create a host of new opportunities for
communication and branding.
In addition, new gTLDs are being introduced, and
VeriSign is enabling its customers to assert rights to their registered
or common law trademarks before .biz domain names become available for registration this year.
The other six new gTLDs - .aero, .coop, .info, .museum, .name and .pro are also expected to become operational this year. For
more information, including an overview of the process of choosing the
new gTLDs and how to request domain names in each one, download VeriSign's
free White Paper, "Journey to the Right of the Dot: ICANN's New
Web Extensions" at ftp://ftp.networksolutions.com/gtld/final_gtld_5_17.pdf
Registration fees for .cc, .tv and .ws domain names are $35-$50 for one year of service. They
are available immediately at www.networksolutions.com.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN - news) is the leading provider of trusted
infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce
service providers and individuals. The company's domain name, digital
certificate and payment services provide the critical Web identity,
authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses
require to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's
services are available through its Web site, www.verisign.com,
or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.
Statements in this announcement other than
historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results
to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others,
VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure,
uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations
in quarterly operating results, increased competition, risks associated
with the company's international business and risks related to potential
security breaches. More information about potential factors that could
affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the
company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2000. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this press release.
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign,
Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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