The .Pro Red Carpet VIP Affair

Hostway announced it is taking reservations for the .Pro TLD through August 31, 2008.

The .Pro Red Carpet VIP Affair (which is just fancy marketing speak) will allow customers to reserve their .Pro domain in advance of the relaunch for the price of $49.95 per year. On September 8, Hostway will officially open registration and all reserved names will become active.

I've been down on the .Pro extension because of its formerly rigorous exclusivity. Originally .Pro registration was restricted to a limited group of professionals in specific countries. Under ICANN's new guidelines, the TLD is effectively available to all professionals, all over the world.

Hostway's subsidiary, RegistryPro, is the exclusive Internet registry for .Pro, a TLD for licensed professionals and entities. RegistryPro's mandate has long been to enable professionals to distinguish themselves on the Internet by using the .Pro extension. "When RegistryPro announced in May that ICANN had dramatically expanded the scope of the .Pro TLD - and relaxed the limitations surrounding its use - Hostway was eager to be among the first to promote the relaunch," stated Lyza Latham, director of marketing for Hostway.

Whether or not the .Pro extension is a must-have TLD for any professional individual or organization is anyone's guess - I wouldn't hold out for a massive registration rush though.