.asia Land Rush begins February 20

Boston, MA – EnCirca announces that the .asia land rush begins February 20, 2008 at 12:00 UTC (7:00 pm EST). Interested companies and individuals may visit http://www.encirca.com/asia to register a .asia domain.

The regionally dedicated domain is being offered to help establish the Internet presence and identity for the Pan-Asia and Asia-Pacific region. The .asia extension allows individuals and companies to target the largest Internet community in the world.

“We see e-tourism as one of the primary drivers for the dot-asia domain,” says Thomas Barrett, President of EnCirca. “The Asian market continues to be the fastest growing market globally, and securing a strong and credible online brand is crucial for companies engaged in Asian tourism.”

EnCirca is accepting pre-registrations prior to the start of land rush. During the .asia land rush phase, all individuals and organizations are eligible to apply for available .asia domains. Domain names receiving more than one application during the land rush period will be auctioned between the applicants. The .asia land rush will end on March 12, 2008 with first-come, first-served .asia registrations commencing on March 26, 2008.

“Trademark owners and businesses should take this opportunity to consider if they should be defensively registering all of their trademarks in .asia. This includes unregistered brand names as well as common law trademarks,” adds Barrett.

EnCirca will provide a free Asian contact for all customers. In order to be eligible for a .asia domain, at least one of the domain contacts associated with the domain name must be an existing and current legal entity in the DotAsia Community – which includes more than 70 countries. EnCirca will provide a Charter Eligibility Declaration (CED) Asian contact on all applications at no extra charge.

As a Business Affiliate of the United Nation’s World Tourism Organization, EnCirca assists tourism boards and travel organizations in securing their domain names. EnCirca is uniquely qualified to help create, protect, and promote brands on the Internet. Organizations interested in learning more about registering and activating .asia domain names, please visit http://www.encirca.com/asia

About EnCirca
As the world’s leading travel Registrar, thousands of tourism boards, destination management organizations, and commercial organizations trust EnCirca as their official domain name Registrar for dot-travel, dot-aero, dot-asia, dot-mobi, dot-pro, dot-com, dot-org, dot-net, dot-jobs and other extensions. EnCirca is a Board Member of UNWTO Affiliate Council.

EnCirca was formed in 2001 and is accredited by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). For more information, see http://www.encirca.com