Reveal Day 13 June 2012 – New gTLD Applied-For Strings 
 
 ICANN developed the New generic Top-Level Domain Program to increase competition and choice by introducing new gTLDs into the Internet’s addressing system. What is a gTLD? It is an Internet domain name extension such as the familiar .com, .net, or .org. There are 280 ccTLDs but only 22 "generics" in the domain name system right now, but that is all about to change. 
 
 The new gTLD application window opened on 12 January 2012 and closed on 30 May 2012. The following list displays all of the gTLD strings that were applied for during this round. 
 
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 'Pets,' 'Pizza' & 'Porn' Among New Internet Domain Names Sought 
 
 The much-anticipated list of Internet domain names that might soon join such familiar suffixes as .com, .edu and .gov is now online. 
 
 As expected, the nearly 2,000 suffixes that have been requested include some from companies who think they can help brand themselves with web addresses that end with things such as: 
 
 — .apple 
 
 — .bananarepublic 
 
 — .chevy 
 
 — .google 
 
 — .lamborghini 
 
 Also as expected, there are those that entrepreneurs hope will be cash cows, including: 
 
 — .porn 
 
 — .pets 
 
 — .pizza 
 
 And, of course: .sex. 
 
 As we've previously reported, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is looking to expand the list of domain names so that just about any word in any language could become part of web addresses. 
 
 But, it's aiming to do it in an orderly fashion. The Associated Press writes that: ||||| In this photo taken Friday, June 8, 2012, a domain name poster is displayed at the offices of Artemis Internet, an NCC Group Company in San Francisco. Some 2,000 proposals have been submitted as part... (Associated Press) 
 
 Proposals for Internet addresses ending in ".pizza," `'.space" and ".auto" are among the nearly 2,000 submitted as part of the largest expansion in the online address system. 
 
 Apple Inc., Sony Corp. and American Express Co. are among companies seeking names with their brands. The expansion will allow suffixes that represent hobbies, ethnic groups, corporate brand names and more. 
 
 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers announced the proposals for Internet suffixes _ the ".com" part of an Internet address _ in London on Wednesday. Among the 1,930 proposals for 1,409 different suffixes, the bulk came from North America and Europe. 
 
 If approved, the new suffixes would rival ".com" and about 300 others now in use. Companies would be able to create separate websites and separate addresses for each of their products and brands, even as they keep their existing ".com" name. Businesses that joined the Internet late and found desirable ".com" names taken would have alternatives. 
 
 From a technical standpoint, the names let Internet-connected computers know where to send email and locate websites. But they've come to mean much more. For Amazon.com Inc., for instance, the domain name is the heart of the company, not just an address. 
 
 Nearly half of the proposals _ 911 _ were from North America and another 675 came from Europe. Only 17 proposals came from Africa and 24 came from Latin America and the Caribbean _ areas where Internet use is relatively low. 
 
 One surprise came from the Asia-Pacific region, which had 303 proposals, or 16 percent of the total. The expansion will lift current restrictions on non-English characters and permit suffixes in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. China has the world's largest Internet population, and there was talk of creating the Chinese equivalent of ".com" and other popular suffixes. 
 
 There were 116 proposals, or 6 percent, for suffixes using characters beyond the 26 English letters. 
 
 Many proposals were duplicates. Suffixes in contention are likely to include ".bank," `'.secure" and ".web." ICANN is encouraging competing bidders to work out an agreement. The organization will hold an auction if the parties fail to reach a compromise. Of the 1,930 proposals, 751 were for 230 different suffixes, while the remaining 1,179 were unique. 
 
 The public can now comment on the proposals. Someone can claim a trademark violation or argue that a proposed suffix is offensive. 
 
 It'll take at least a year or two for ICANN to approve the first of these new suffixes. ICANN will review each proposal to make sure that its financial plan is sound and that contingencies exist in case a company goes out of business. Bidders also must pass criminal background checks. 
 
 Companies and groups had to pay $185,000 per proposal. Suffixes could potentially generate millions of dollars a year for winning bidders as they sell names ending in some of the approved names. Critics of the expansion include a coalition of business groups worried about protecting their brands in newly created names.
– ICANN today revealed the 1,409 suffixes that companies are clamoring to add to our Internet lexicon, and they run the gamut from .porn to .pizza to .paris, reports NPR. A number of companies got in on the action, with who-cares-about-brevity proposals including .lamborghini, .pamperedchef, and .bananarepublic. The 1,930 proposals, which cost $185,000 a pop, include some duplicates (no big surprise that more than one entity wants to lay claim to .bank). ICANN hopes competing bidders can resolve their claim amongst themselves; if not, ICANN will auction off the in-demand suffix. The public is also allowed to weigh in and blow the whistle on a trademark violation or protest any suffix they find in poor taste. The AP expects it will take as long as two years for ICANN to OK the suffixes. Click to see all the proposed suffixes; our favorite: .mrmuscle.