PC World Business

The administrator of domain names, auDA, is reducing registration fees by 25 percent effective from August 1, 2004.

Chris Disspain, auDA CEO, said the reduction has resulted from increased volumes in .au registrations and is proof Australia's self-regulatory system for domain name administration is working well.

"The total fee for a .au domain name is made up of fees charged by auDA, AusRegistry and registrars. For com.au names the retail price currently varies between $60 and $140 depending on the registrar and the services they offer," Disspain said, pointing out that auDA registration has dropped from $10 to $7.50 and this saving should be passed on in the total price.

The surge in demand for Internet addresses which sparked the price fall was welcomed by IT Minister Daryl Williams.

He said the number of domain names ending in .au soared to more than 433,000 in the past year, with more than 110,000 new names registered.

"An increasing number of Australian businesses and consumers are choosing to develop a Web presence by establishing their own domain name."