The new generic top-level domain .KIDS has its first live site. This is the official site of the DotKids Foundation using the nic.kids domain. Many players in the domain market, including such heavyweights as Amazon and Google, sought the right to manage the domain zone, but it was the Hong Kong registry DotKids Foundation that somehow came out on top.
The domain zone’s owner plans to start a sunrise period in the third quarter and go to general availability in the fourth quarter of this year. There is also going to be a Pioneer Program for early adopters and a special registration period for children’s rights groups.
Domain Incite, reporting this news, was cautious in assessing the commercial prospects of the domain zone. Although the registry has not formulated precise policies yet, .KIDS must be dedicated exclusively to content for under-18s. However, this framework includes several age groups, whose interests are extremely different – from Teletubbies and Peppa Pig to Star Wars and vampire sagas. Previous attempts to create a single child-friendly space failed flat. For example, at the beginning of this century, the US launched .kids.us under the patronage of the government. The initiative flopped: 10 years later, the domain shut down, having less than 100 registered names. Our country runs .ДЕТИ, which is doing somewhat better: at the moment it has about 800 registrations.
