Top-level domain growth continues to climb

VeriSign estimates that there are more than 193 million domain names in existence

The volume of new domain name registrations grew by some six per cent during the last quarter, according to new figures from VeriSign.

The company said that more than 193 million top-level domain (TLD) registrations were logged by the end of the first quarter of 2010. New registrations saw an increase of six per cent from the same period last year and increased by almost one per cent over the previous quarter.

VeriSign estimated that it handles an average of 54 billion DNS queries each day, a jump of 41 per cent from 2009 and four per cent from the past quarter.

The company also highlighted a study from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation which estimated that online commerce now totals as much as $1.5tn (£1tn) and could reach $3.8tn by 2020.

The study said that online commerce in Europe grew by some 85 per cent between 2004 and 2009, with Denmark, Sweden and the UK among the most active e-commerce nations in the world.

"As the ITIF study affirms, the commercial internet has been a transformational force in the world for the past quarter century," said Raynor Dahlquist, senior vice president of naming services at VeriSign.

"To ensure it continues to drive the evolution of entire industries, it is vital to make strategic and continuous investments in the internet infrastructure."