The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has approved proposals to relax the stringent laws surrounding top-level domain names, signalling the biggest expansion to the internet landscape in 40 years.

In a meeting in Paris, France, yesterday, ICANN, the not-for-profit internet regulator, voted unanimously in favour of allowing businesses to self-select their domain names, so that "choices are most appropriate for their customers or potentially the most marketable."

ICANN said it expects applications for ‘targeted community strings’ such as .travel for the travel industry and .gamble for the gaming industry, as well as generic strings like .brandname or .yournamehere.

It is understood that there are already interested consortiums wanting to establish city-based top-level domains, including .nyc, .berlin and .paris.

However, while the move heralds a massive increase in the real estate of the world wide web, critics have warned it would make the internet a more expensive place for small businesses and home users, while offering easy pickings for cyber criminals.

ICANN itself admitted that trademarks will not automatically reserved under the new domain listings, but said there will be an "objection-based mechanism" for trademark owners where their arguments for protection will be considered.

In an effort to deter cybersquatters, the organisation is likely to charge a hefty price for the new domains. Some experts have estimated that the new names could cost anywhere from US$50,000 to $100,000 or more.

It is anticipated that the first round of applications will occur in the second quarter of next year.