Dot LONDON Calling

One of the first city-focused domain names has received final approval from ICANN. 

The .LONDON extension, which will be available early next year (spring 2014), received the final go-ahead from the global Internet body this week.

London itself has more than 800,000 businesses and many of London's most notable brands, including Selfridges and Carnaby Street have already expressed interest in the gTLD. 

Hazel Kay, Interim Head of Marketing at Selfridges, said: "As an iconic London retailer, Selfridges has always taken care to be at the cutting edge of innovation in order to better serve our customers. Having a selfridges.london address is an exciting new opportunity to be creative with our web presence while showcasing our strong association with London, which is a key component of our identity."

Dot London is currently developing the operating procedures for its extension, including who exactly will be eligible, the order or priority, acceptable use policies and how domains will be allocated.