New Austrian gTLD .WIEN to Launch on Afternic

Afternic is the official launch partner of the new generic top-level domain (gTLD) .WIEN. As announced at the Domain Pulse conference, Afternic has been selected to develop and implement an international, premium domain name strategy.

“This new domain name is exactly what the gTLD expansion is all about, creating something online that is relevant, like .WIEN for Vienna”

The .WIEN domain, the German name for Austria’s capital city Vienna, is being launched under the slogan “Our City. Our Domain.” It serves as a strong message for residents, local businesses and those wishing to establish a presence in Vienna, known as one of Europe’s most beautiful capitals with nearly 2 million citizens and a bustling business climate.

Afternic is identifying, appraising and marketing the most valuable domain for the new .WIEN extension. Doing this enables local and regional businesses to promote their services online. Once the gTLD reaches general availability, currently scheduled for July 2014, the .WIEN premium domain name will be listed on the Afternic marketplace and made available to accredited registrars.

punkt.wien CEO Ronald Schwaerzler commented, “We recognize the importance of a solid, premium-pricing domain name strategy supporting the successful launch of a new gTLD. We know Afternic is the right choice and is a true industry leader and highly-regarded brokerage company. With Afternic’s expertise, .WIEN domain names are sure to find their best buyers.”

“This new domain name is exactly what the gTLD expansion is all about, creating something online that is relevant, like .WIEN for Vienna,” said Afternic Chief Revenue Officer Bob Mountain. “With our broad international audience and a firm foothold in the German-speaking world, Afternic can create global demand and ensure appropriate allocation for this valuable asset.”

To learn more about Afternic’s strategic planning services, visit www.Afternic.com.

About Afternic:

Afternic, a part of GoDaddy, is the world’s premiere domain marketplace, listing more than five million premium domain names available for sale and receiving more than 75 million domain searches each month—more than any other domain marketplace. Founded in 1999, Afternic launched the first website where domain owners could list their domain for sale and prospective domain buyers could review available inventory—connecting buyers and sellers of domain names for the first time and creating the industry’s first domain marketplace. Since the company’s founding, Afternic has been continuously expanding and innovating, introducing new technologies like Fast Transfer that allow a domain buyer to have immediate control of a purchased domain and building a distribution network that now includes more than 100 partners that market Afternic’s domain listings the world over. To learn more about the company visit Afternic.com.

About punkt.wien GmbH

In May 2012, punkt.wien GmbH applied for .WIEN via ICANN’s New gTLD Program with full support from the Vienna Government/Administration.

The applicant’s rationale is that the .WIEN top level domain is designed to serve the needs of the community of the City of Wien (English: Vienna). The local .WIEN domain names to become available via this TLD are concise and create a unique and individual identity for citizens, companies and institutions. Those providing and looking for information, goods and services in Wien can thus intuitively come together. The .WIEN domain names should strengthen the feeling of community amongst citizens and visitors of Wien, improve communication, and make interaction easier, thus providing a stimulus for innovation and development. The City of Wien will hopefully become an even more attractive place to visit, as a commercial location and as a place to live.

About GoDaddy

GoDaddy’s mission is to radically shift the global economy toward small businesses by empowering people to easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures. With more than 12 million customers worldwide and 57 million domain names under management, GoDaddy gives small business owners the tools to name their idea, build a beautiful online presence, attract customers and manage their business. To learn more about the company, visit www.GoDaddy.com.