June 3, 2004

Domain registrar RegistryPro, a subsidiary of Web hosting provider Hostway and operator of the .pro top-level domain, announced on Tuesday the launch of the .pro domain, the Internet's first top-level domain since 2002. The .pro extension is only available to licensed doctors, lawyers and accountants who must first submit verification of their professional status before being able to register a .pro domain.

RegistryPro said that each .pro domain comes with a free digital certificate, allowing domain owners to protect confidential client information communicated through email or over the Internet.

"When it comes to information about your personal health, legal and financial records, you want the greatest possible assurance that your data is protected and that you've verified the identity of the professional receiving and sending the information," says Michael Delciello, general manager of RegistryPro.

"The value to consumers of the new .pro domain names - verified identity and secure communications - is something they can't typically find in the mass-market .com and .net domains."

RegistryPro has established .pro domain registration procedures with more than 20 registrars. Hostway acquired RegistryPro from Register.com in February.

Source: The WHIR