Single-letter web addresses fetch Rs 30 lakh in auction

Updated on: 04 October,2011 10:05 AM IST |
Agencies |

Household name companies and online investors paid tens of thousands of pounds for some of the shortest internet addresses ever

Household name companies and online investors paid tens of thousands of pounds for some of the shortest internet addresses ever.

Facebook, Google and Mercedez Benz were among big companies which bid in an auction of pithy new UK domain names which included several single letter addresses.

Domains such as x.co.uk and O.co.uk were among the most sought-after addresses on offer in the latest auction by Nominet, which runs Britain's web infrastructure.

Twelve single letter web addresses fetched an average of ufffd39,000 (Rs 30 lakh) each in the sale. The auction helped raise ufffd3 million (Rs 22.81 crore) for the Nominet Trust, a charity which promotes safe Internet access.
Facebook snapped up the address fb.co.uk; Mercedez Benz bagged mb.co.uk.

But the address g.co.uk went to an internet investment firm, which specialises in domain names rather than to Google.

One investor is said to have bought 170 potentially lucrative domain names for an investment of ufffd500,000 (Rs 3.80 crore)

But the auction process also attracted enthusiasts motivated more by a "collector mentality" than by the prospect of lucrative resale prospects. "It was an auction of the most significant Internet real estate to come on the market," said one investor.

Rs 22.81 cr
The amount the auction raised for Nominet Trust, a charity, which promotes safe internet access