Hebrew domain names finally here

While current registration is under 'il' prefix, Israel Internet Association promises that in couple of months 'co.il' endings will be available as well

Omer Sachnai |Published: 12.27.10 , 14:07

If you've ever wanted to set up a website with a Hebrew name, like www.שלום.co.il (Shalom), then now is the time. As of December 26, the Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) allows registering of domain names in Hebrew with the "il" suffix. The registration is available via the ISOC's official forms.

Up to now, the Hebrew domains were available in the pre-public phase only for government offices, corporates, and registered companies, so they could register and reserve the website names that represent their registered trademarks like Cellcom or Orange (only in Hebrew).

But now, the service is finally available to the public and anyone can register any domain name they wish as long as it's a valid name and hasn't already been reserved (according to the ISOC's rules).

The registration is subject to availability, so anyone who is quick enough might get to snatch his desired domain or even a smart investment for the future. Think of it, any general name ranging from pizza to hotels in Hebrew, could be eventually sold for a much higher price.

Moreover, while the current registration is under "il" prefix, the ISOC promises that in a couple of months "co.il" endings will be available as well and all the already bought "il" domains will be available automatically under "co.il" as well.

Reprinted with permission from Shalom Life