Germany is leading the scramble to snap up new European domains, while the UK is being a tad .eusceptic.

According to the latest stats, the European domain name registry has received more than 166,000 applications for .eu domains since the registration period opened on December 7.

Just one in ten applications has come from the UK.

"The demand for .eu has been very strong, though it is worrying that British businesses are so far behind their European rivals in protecting their brands online," NetNames business development director Jonathan Robinson said.

"British companies must act quickly to ensure their online brands are protected across Europe. Applications are dealt with in the order they are received, so any delay could cause your brand significant damage if your trademarks and names are registered by another party," he said. ®

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