PW Internet Domain Opens For Business

December 14, 2004; 12:20 AM

BOSTON, MA, December 15, 2004. The PW Internet domain officially starts accepting registrations on December 15 at 12pm. PW, also called "Privacy Web", is designed for individuals and groups and offers spam-free email forwarding and personal domain names. The PW Registry, which runs the .pw domain for the Pacific Island nation of Palau, has figured out an ingenious system for users to obtain a meaningful email address and then blocking spam to their selected address.

100% of the World's Family Names
To sign up is a simple two step process: Users enter their preferred name ending with .pw into any web browser. For example, they could enter "Wilson.pw." Users then select their email prefix, say "Bill", creating an address such as [email protected]. No matter how common someone's favorite choice is, .pw guarantees 100% of the world's family names, ethnic groups and team mascots are available.

"Had it with assembly-line email addresses like jsmith987654321? Tired of being locked in by your ISP? With .pw email, users can choose a meaningful e-mail address -- their last name, hometown, sports team, hobby, anything," says Tom Barrett, CEO of PW Registry. "Getting started is as simple as entering any string into your web browser ending with .pw."
Spam Firewall Concern about spam is a significant factor for consumers choosing an Internet service provider. According to a recent survey, 23% of online households perceive their ISP as very unsuccessful at stopping spam. Most anti-spam methods are limited to deployment on your PC or at your ISP. The PW Registry blocks spam before it even reaches your ISP.

By deploying spam blocking technology close to the internet's root servers maintained by ICANN and Verisign, spammers are prevented from ever gaining access to .pw email addresses. The result is the internet's first spam-free internet domain.

Privacy Epidemic
Barrett says "There is a privacy epidemic on the internet and consumers are fed up." He continues, "With leadership and support from Palau, we've come up with the Internet's first and only domain extension designed to protect the privacy of individuals. The consumer is in control of who can send them email."

E-Mail Portability
Consumers and small businesses hesitate to treat e-mail addresses as permanent because e-mail services are so fundamentally tied to ISPs. With .pw, users can maintain their permanent .pw email address and forward mail to their existing ISP. Then, just like phone number portability, consumers are free to switch providers without losing touch with friends, family, and business contacts.

About PW Registry Corporation
As public trustee of the .pw domain, PW Registry Corporation is responsible for protecting the public's interest in the management and administration of the Internet's first domain extension devoted to consumer privacy. .pw already works throughout the global Internet without any changes required to the existing technical infrastructure. For more information, see http://www.pwregistry.pw.

Contacts: Thomas Barrett PW Registry Corporation +1.781.492.1315 [email protected]