Johannesburg is on the way to becoming the first in the country to have its own official domain name.

According to News24 today, Joburg’s application has been submitted by Zadna (ZA Domain Name Authority) who took over second level domains in 2002. This includes co.za, gov.za, org.za and ac.za.

Other large cities in South Africa – Cape Town and Durban – also got submissions, but Icann (Assigned Names and Numbers who run the global domain market), drew Joey’s prioritisation application as 566 out of the 1300.

Zadna, general manager:

Joburg is a city with its own unique atmosphere and is undoubtedly Africa’s leading business and financial centre.

It’s fitting that it [Johannesburg] should have its own domain name that companies and organisations can use to convey a distinct association with the city. Once the Cape Town initial evaluation is completed, we will be on our way to giving our three major cities a sound platform on which to market themselves on the internet.

Joburg and Durban have passed the evaluation phase, but Cape Town will have to wait a bit longer.

[Source: News24]