VET Verdant

RNS Number:3329U
Virtual Internet PLC
17 November 2000


Virtual Internet plc. (VET.L, exchange: London) News Release - 17-Nov-2000

RegistryPro, a joint venture between Virtual Internet and register.com, wins
'.pro'

ICANN selects RegistryPro's application to create a .pro registry aimed at
lawyers, doctors, accountants and other professionals, helping users more
easily find professionals on the Internet.
RegistryPro, Ltd., a corporation formed by Virtual Internet plc (London:VET.L)
and Register.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:RCOM), with assistance from technology partner,
Baltimore Technologies (Nasdaq:BALT; London:BLM), today won approval to
commence negotiations with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN) regarding the creation of a new Internet domain registry for
professionals.

Pending final approval by ICANN, RegistryPro's .pro domain registry will
create the first-ever exclusive professional domain extension on the Internet.
RegistryPro is one of only seven applicants short-listed from the original 44
applicants which applied in October 2000 for new Top Level Domains.
Upon the successful completion of negotiations with ICANN over the coming
months, the .pro top-level domain (TLD) will be administered by the new
corporation, RegistryPro (www.registrypro.com). The RegistryPro application
calls for the creation of domain names tailored to specific professions, such
as doctors, lawyers and accountants, allowing consumers to make distinctions
among professionals while increasing the volume of available domain names. For
example, a qualified doctor will be eligible to register JamesRClarke.med.pro,
to let users all over the world know that he is accredited in his field. At
the same time, a lawyer could register JamesRClarke.law.pro, allowing two
professionals to distinguish themselves while both having a .pro designation.
Furthermore, .pro will be available to professional companies and
associations, which can register on .pro and leverage the new extensions to
enhance their member services.

"Today's decision shows that RegistryPro has fulfilled ICANN's requirements
for the creation of a technologically sound registry that will be an asset to
the current Internet naming system and ensure true global reach," said Jason
Drummond, CEO of Virtual Internet. "We're confident that Virtual Internet and
Register.com, together with Baltimore Technologies, have the experience and
the reach to ensure RegistryPro's smooth launch and operation.  We look
forward to a successful period of negotiation, due to start shortly, with
ICANN over the detailed terms of the registry licence."

"We're extremely honoured that ICANN has selected the RegistryPro bid to be
among the first restricted domain extensions to be added to the Internet,"
said Richard Forman, President and CEO of register.com. "Today's decision
clearly shows that ICANN has recognised the business and technological
strengths of RegistryPro's plan for a .pro top level domain. We look forward
to providing the world's over 20 million doctors, lawyers and accountants, as
well as millions of other professionals, with the ability to distinguish
themselves on the Internet, while fostering consumer confidence."
RegistryPro will reach out to professional associations to collaborate on
selection criteria and to include their individual and corporate members. The
registry's robust search capacity and centralised database, as opposed to the
systems currently employed by .com, .net and .org, would operate at the
registry level to help eliminate instances of cybersquatting.
RegistryPro's solution is a state-of-the-art registry that provides increased
reliability, real time registration, and enhanced capability, and more
effective mechanisms to deal with high volume traffic and increased trademark
protection. RegistryPro will draw on the partners' collaboration with
Baltimore Technologies, a leading global provider in e-security.
ICANN, the international, non-governmental corporation tasked with overseeing
the development of the domain name system, selected .pro as one of seven new
domain extensions to be part of the proof-of-concept expansion of the current
domain name system. In June 1999, ICANN deregulated the domain registrar
industry by allowing competitors to register domain names with the generic
extensions, .com, .net and .org. With the selection of .pro as well as the
other new domain extensions, ICANN is helping to promote competition in the
registry industry by approving the creation of new, non-country code top level
domains for the first time in history.

About Virtual Internet
Virtual Internet plc (London:VET.L) is a leading provider of Internet hosting,
naming and online brand management services for businesses worldwide. Its move
from AIM to the Full List in April 2000 has ensured that the company has the
resources to consolidate its position and to fulfil plans for further
expansion into Europe and the US.

Virtual Internet established its London HQ in 1996 and has grown rapidly,
opening further offices in Paris, New York and Milan.
Virtual Internet currently hosts over 75,000 domains and provides one of the
fastest web hosting solutions in the UK (according to independent performance
testing published in Internet magazine). Virtual Internet's business customer
base includes many corporate accounts including over half the FTSE 100 (the
UK's largest companies by market capitalisation). It was the first publicly-
listed UK company to go live as an ICANN accredited registrar.
About register.com

Register.com, Inc. (www.register.com) provides domain name registration and
other Internet services for individuals and businesses that wish to have a
unique address and a branded identity on the Internet. The first registrar to
compete in the domain registration market after its deregulation in 1999,
register.com has processed over 3 million registrations across over 230 top
level domains, including .com, .co.uk (United Kingdom) and .co.de (Germany).
The company was founded in 1994 and is based in New York.

For further information please contact

Press contacts
Helen Yeardsley, Virtual Internet      01273 666 200
Shonna Keogan, register.com            +1 212 798 9149

Investor Relations contacts
Jason Drummond, CEO, Virtual Internet  020 7460 4061
Stephanie Marks, register.com          +1 212 798 9169

Websites                   
Virtual Internet           www.vi.net
Register.com               www.register.com
Registrypro                www.registrypro.com
ICANN                      www.ICANN.org

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