NetBenefit/Excite deal to push personal URLs

Domain registrar NetBenefit has signed an agreement with UK portal Excite to punt its services to a mainstream consumer audience. In June Tim Ashley, sales and marketing director at NetBenefit predicted that the acquisition of personal domains would become the next boom area in domain name sales. Just like mobile phones, which originally developed as a business-only tool before gaining widespread consumer appeal, the kudos of having a personal domain name would create a new wave of URL owners, he said. What's more, he said personal domains would become valued as family heirlooms and passed down from generation to generation. The exclusive agreement with the UK's second largest portal suggests NetBenefit could be the driving force behind its own self-fulfilling prophecy. It could also be positioning itself to take advantage of planned price cuts on 1 September when the fees paid to Nominet -- the UK's national registry -- fall from around £29 to just £5. ®