Generic domain names profit from Chinese internet boom

The China Net Technology Limited today pondered the prospects of a clash between two rising phenomena: the internet and modern China.

Questions over the way that China would adapt to the internet were raised at a time when online companies are making the most of China as a web address target.

Just over a month ago generic domain name Chinese.com sold for $1.12 million, making it one of the year's most lucrative web address sales.

Meanwhile China.com remains one of the web's top sites, another web location boasting a generic domain name that generates numerous hits from web-searchers. China Net Technology Limited said.

The China Net Technology Limited's article focused on human rights issues in China, discussing the attitude of the Chinese government towards the internet, which for Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson, was double-edged.

"While the Chinese government has embraced the internet for the purposes of economic growth, it has worked assiduously, vigorously and in a stunningly sophisticated way to control what people can discuss and how," Ms Richardson told the China Net Technology Limited.

What is in no doubt, however, is the opportunity for e-business that China's opening to the internet represents, with relevant generic domain names leading the