So far, 100 registrants can apply for generic top-level domains to expand beyond .com to .all-sorts-of-things, Internet overseer ICANN says.

ICANN, the Internet overseer that's begun a process to expand Net domains dramatically beyond the likes of .com and .edu, said today 100 organizations have registered to get involved.

The expansion concerns generic top-level domains, or GTLDs. ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) spent years putting the new program together so the Internet could use Web and e-mail addresses ending in .paris, .canon, .hotel, and .eco.

As of Monday, 100 registrants successfully joined the program, but ICANN didn't say who they are or what GTLDs they're seeking to establish. Organizations have until March 29 to register for the program and until April 12 to actually apply for the GTLD. Each registrant may apply for as many as 50 GTLDs.

The total indicates serious interest by many parties in adding new addresses to the Internet, though it'll take months for ICANN to review the applications themselves.

The GTLD expansion has raised hackles among advertising groups because some fear it will lead to potentially expensive difficulties when it comes to defending brands and trademarks. ICANN says the system is set up to protect against brand problems, though, in part through use of a trademark clearinghouse.

A successful GTLD applicant doesn't just get the rights to use a Net address. Instead, it gets the right to operate the actual registry similarly to how Verisign operates the .com registry.

Although the GTLD expansion raises some new cybersquatting and trademark protection issues, ICANN's plan isn't likely to appeal to those without a serious commitment. That's because it costs $185,000 to apply to be a GTLD operator and $25,000 a year to operate the registry.

What kind of evaluation process comes for applicants? A long one.