<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
[this country, poor and restless suffers from US subsidies on
cotton, that the WTO ruled against the US in a case with Brazil,
which depress world prices and there is little else as a cash crop
in this debt ridden country... prospects?]<br>
<h1 class="headline">Mali gives away free domain in hopes of outside
investment</h1>
<div class="placeline"> <a
href="http://mg.co.za/author/guardian-reporter">09 Apr 2013
10:05 - Guardian Reporter</a> </div>
<div id="share">
<ul class="widgets">
<li><iframe
src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fmg.co.za%2Farticle%2F2013-04-09-mali-becomes-first-african-country-to-give-away-domain-for-free%2F&layout=button_count&show_faces=false&width=200&action=recommend&font&colorscheme=light&height=21"
style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:200px;
height:21px;"></iframe>
<br>
</li>
<li><iframe data-twttr-rendered="true" title="Twitter Tweet
Button" style="width: 109px; height: 20px;"
class="twitter-share-button twitter-count-horizontal"
src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.1363148939.html#_=1365523595062&count=horizontal&id=twitter-widget-0&lang=en&original_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fmg.co.za%2Farticle%2F2013-04-09-mali-becomes-first-african-country-to-give-away-domain-for-free%2F&related=amabhungane&size=m&text=Mali%20gives%20away%20free%20domain%20in%20hopes%20of%20outside%20investment%20%7C%20News%20%7C%20Africa%20%7C%20Mail%20%26%20Guardian&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmg.co.za%2Farticle%2F2013-04-09-mali-becomes-first-african-country-to-give-away-domain-for-free%2F&via=mailandguardian"
allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<br>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="alt_article_blurb"> <span>Mali has announced its little
known .ML domain will be free from July, a move it hopes will
put the country on the map.</span> </div>
<div class="article_body">
<div class="article_photo grey_border_img"> <img
src="cid:part2.07090107.09050700@gmail.com"> </div>
<div id="article_content">
<p>Its domain currently ranks 177th in the world, less than half
of the country has mobile phone coverage and only 4% of the
population are online. But Mali could be set to become one of
the world's most popular internet destinations after it became
the first African country to give its domain away for free.</p>
<p>Mali announced on Monday that its .ML domain – which is
currently used by fewer than 50 active websites – will be free
from July, in a move which it hopes will bring much needed
outside investment, and give a boost to Malian businesses.</p>
<p>"We are proud to be the first African nation to give domain
names for free," says Moussa Dolo, general manager of Mali's
Agence des Technologies de l'Information et de la
Communication. "By providing free domain names to internet
users worldwide, we will put Mali back on the map. We wish to
show the rest of the world the fantastic opportunities our
country has to offer."</p>
<p>The new scheme is being operated by Freedom Registry, the
company which operates a similar .TK system for Tokelau – the
tiny cluster of coral atolls in the South Pacific with a
population of less than 2 000 – but which is now the most
popular domain name in the world, with more active domain name
registrations than Russia and China combined.</p>
<p>"If you look at the Tokelau experience, most registrations
for .TK are coming from Turkey – whose name corresponds to the
letters," said Joost Zuurbier from Freedom Registry.</p>
<p>"And they are coming from many other emerging economies –
China, Vietnam, India – they have a real need for domain space
because other domains are full. .com is already taken, and if
you want .cn you have to show your ID to the Chinese
government. That's why people have been using .TK – it's a
free alternative, and now .ML will be just as attractive."</p>
<p>Interest in the .ML domain is expected to come from a number
of countries, including Manila and Malaysia, attracted by the
resemblance between the letters and their own names.</p>
<p><strong>'Good idea on paper'</strong><br>
Mali's attempt to revamp its online presence comes as its
economy has been devastated by an ongoing conflict, in which
an international military intervention has been battling
al-Qaeda-linked insurgents who seized control of the country's
north a year ago.</p>
<p>But some questioned whether the move could really make a
difference in a country where internet access and disposable
incomes remain low.</p>
<p>"I think the .ML domain free registration process is a good
idea on paper and could shed positive light on Mali which is
sorely needed," said Tim Katlic, founder and editor of<a
href="http://oafrica.com/" target="_blank"><em> oAfrica.com</em></a>,
which tracks internet progress in African countries, and
reports that Mali is experiencing steady online growth. "But
in reality, I don't think it will pan out as expected, since
Mali's internet users aren't ready for content creation – they
have limited desktop usage, lack of income to afford web
hosting even if domain is free, heavy reliance on
international social media sites instead of local ones."</p>
<p>But Freedom Registry said that Mali would also attract extra
revenue from the move, with advertising income from domains
which lapse split between the company and the Malian
authorities.</p>
<p>"Currently we add about 20% to the GDP of Tokelau, and
although it is a small country, Mali is much bigger and the
potential is huge," said Zubier. "But it's not only about the
money – to Mali it's the infrastructure we provide."</p>
<p>"In the past countries needed to invest heavily in equipment
to increase their internet traffic, but now it all exists in
the cloud – so it's a service that we can provide for them at
no charge in Mali. It's a win-win situation where everyone in
Mali will get their domain name for free, internationally
people can register domains in Mali for free, and Mali doesn't
have to invest but can still get a lot of international
business." – Guardian News and Media 2013</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>