Now that there are Arabic, Chinese, and Russian alternatives to “.com”, Leo Mirani predicts a “digital land rush”:
Until yesterday, there were only 22 gTLDs [generic top-level domains], all in the Roman script. Now there are 26, and .website, .fish, .discount and .lawyer are also on their way. The four new domains are .онлайн and .сайт (Russian for “online” and “site”), .شبكة (Arabic for “web”) and .游戏 (Chinese for “game”). The new gTLDs present a huge opportunity for speculators – sometimes uncharitably referred to as domain squatters – who register hundreds of domains in the hope that someone, someday, will pay big money for them.
ICANN has taken steps to prevent the most egregious of such cases.
To begin with, 629 words and phrases are off limits entirely. These include addresses that could be used for the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Olympics Committee and dozens of obscure intergovernmental bodies such as the International Olive Oil Council. Moreover, registrations for the new gTLDs will open to the public only after a “sunrise period” of at least 30 days, which is reserved for trademark holders to register their domains on new gTLDs. … There is no restriction on common nouns, however. That means the Arabic, Russian and Chinese Internet are about to create a few new millionaires, if past experience is anything to go by.
The Dish 