It’s a prank! However, I have some interesting news. Registration of new .ME top-level domain names will be open to the public beginning Thursday, July 17 at 12 pm EST.

Here’s a bit of background information: The .ME country code was assigned to Montenegro after it gained independence in 2006.

Companies owning trademarks received preferential treatment and were allowed to register .ME names. ahead of everyone else. For example, Google has already registered Google.me.

So who are .ME names for? This is what it says on the website http://www.Domain.Me:

“Because .ME is about YOU! .ME has incredible potential for Internet users around the world. Think about it, with a .ME domain, the Internet will simply be all about YOU. For the first time in the history of Internet domain names are essentially personal.

.ME is expected to be used both as a personalized web address and as an attractive business marketing tool around the world, initially in English, followed by localized and standards-compliant international domain names, e.g., Spanish, Italian and Montenegrin.

.ME domains, with their universal appeal, are expected to be in high demand. Therefore, some “premium” names, including verb-oriented domains such as “Contact.ME”, “Drive.ME” or “Fly.ME”, will be held for auction after open registration. We will have more information available on premium auctions in the coming months.” (Source: Domain.Me)

The cost of buying a .ME domain name isn’t exactly cheap, starting at $19.99 per year, with a two-year minimum term. Worth it? Well, that’s up to each individual to decide for themselves. However, in my opinion, if you simply want to put your own name on a domain, why not choose one of the cheaper and more popular extensions, like .COM or .NAME?

That said, if you have a quirky sense of humor and a bit of imagination, I can see where you could have a lot of fun with a .ME domain name. In essence, you are only limited by your imagination, especially if you work in the sex industry. (FYI: Premium names like kiss.me, case.me, and buy.me cannot be purchased for 19.99 and are instead auctioned off.)

However, if you’re interested in purchasing a .ME domain name, you should still be able to generate some great ideas by playing around with the domain suggestion tool, NameTumbler.com. For example, while doing research for this article, I found these interesting .ME domain names that are still available:

Bill.me, Call.me, Quote.me, Play.me, List.me, Teach.me, Drive.me, Copy.me, Click.me, and many, many more. By the time you read this article, someone may have already found those names.

For more information, visit http://Domain.ME