Does what comes after the .dot matter?

Would you pay the same amount of money for a domain name that ends in ".asia" as you would for ".com"? If your answer is no, which of the two domain names would you fork out more cash to own?

If your company is headquartered in Asia and serves primarily the Asian market, you would logically be more willing to pay a higher sum to own a domain name that ends in ".asia".

I suspect, however, that this isn't always the case right now.

Most major organizations today are global by nature, whether they're based in Singapore, India or Belgium. There's really little reason for companies aiming to grow big, to restrict their business to the local market when they can expand their revenue potential by opening up to a global audience.

Marketing a company that is fronted by a Web site ending in ".asia" could limit its ability to sell to customers outside the Asian region.

But this is starting to change, thanks largely to India and China, which have helped prop Asia as an upcoming major player in the global economy.

So, is it time for businesses in the region to start registering domain names ending in ".asia"? Some certainly think so.

According to DotAsia, the introduction of .asia as a TLD (top-level domain) "fulfils a market need and a dream". The Hong Kong-based, not-for-profit organization is the registry operator for ".asia" domains, and the first gTLD (generic top-level domain) registry headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region.

Over 60 percent of the world's population live in Asia, and the region has begun to emerge from its financial and economic problems in the 1990s, DotAsia said. "A special, dedicated domain can help players in the region realize their global citizenship, as well as the potential for regionally-targeted efforts".

Singapore-based ornamental fish supplier Qian Hu, owns four URL links: qianhu.com, thaiqianhu.com, kimkang.com.my and qianhuchina.com. It has no plans to add ".asia" to the list, but it's not ruling out other domain names--specifically those ending in ".biz".

Over a brief e-mail exchange, Kenny Yap, Qian Hu's executive chairman and managing director, said he believes the online business and user communities are ready to recognize domain names that don't necessarily end in the conventional ".com".

"Domain names ending with '.asia', '.biz' and '.info' are quite meaningful and easy to remember," Yap said. "In my opinion, ".biz" domain names will be widely used in the near future."

Because Qian Hu is championing to be a global business, and not only an Asian entity, the fish import/export company has no plans to own URL links that end in ".asia", he explained. Chong Wei Khee, who heads the company that manages Qian Hu's IT infrastructure, added: "However, domain names ending with '.biz' and '.info' might be part of our consideration in future."

But if the company indeed intends to do that, it might want to do so quickly. According to DotAsia, good domain names have become prime cyber real estate.

"Poker.com" was auctioned out earlier this year for over US$27 million, while "Business.com" is currently estimated to be worth between US$300 million and US$400 million.

With cybersquatting predicted to be on the rise, Asian companies might want to scurry up if they want to ensure they own the domain names that most relevant to their business.

Has your company registered a domain name ending with ".asia"?