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For those wanting a more personalised slice of Web real estate, the new domain is intended as alternative to individuals adopting the supposedly commercial .co.uk. The development reflects the increasing spread of the Internet and the rising use of personal domains.

Whereas before, the Registry for .uk domain names allowed for commercial (.co.uk), academic (.ac.uk), government (.gov.uk) and organisational addresses (.org.uk), you can now register .me.uk addresses.

The Registrar in control - Nominet,

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, in this case - will determine the allocation of domains, which are on a first come first served basis. So the Smiths and Joneses of this world should move fast.

It's the first new SLD (second level domain) to be introduced since Nominet was awarded control of the .uk Registry in 1996. Guidance notes can be read here and they include the warning that registrants should be 'natural persons' and any made on behalf of commercial organisations could be challenged.

Typically, you would register for a .me domain through an ISP. Zen Internet, for example, are already participating (charging £100 for setup and £50 per year for hosting, exclusive of VAT).

How elegant these domains will be when used in conjunction with email accounts remains to be seen. How soon will a convention emerge? A degree of redundancy seems unavoidable: john@johnsmith.me.uk or me@johnsmith.me.uk... Leave a comment.