Gillian Shaw of the Vancouver Sun writes a cool story below about the new .tel domains which will launch in the next few months.

Asking a prospective date for a phone number is so last century. Starting soon, it will be "What's your dot-tel?" There's a new online gold rush gathering momentum as pre-registration ramps up for the Internet's new ".tel" domain that lets individuals, companies and organizations store all their contact information in a virtual phone book for life. Even though their phones numbers, their e-mail or location may change, their .tel remains the same. It can be updated and customized by the user so they can be found by anyone who knows their .tel name.

Or not, as the case may be since the .tel service also lets users decide how much contact information they want to share and whom they want to share it with. It can include everything from a home or office phone number, to a mobile phone, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any of the increasing number of ways people choose to stay in touch. In a customized twist on the old practice of an unlisted phone number, just like Facebook you can choose to share information with friends, keeping it hidden from others. Or you can share certain contact info with acquaintances and clients, saving your secret home cellphone number for only close friends and family. For people you really don't want to hear from or pesky telemarketers, you can send them on a wild goose chase by giving them bogus contact information. You can also map your location, a plus for businesses that can direct customers straight to their door with nothing more than a .tel name. "At a fairly straightforward level, it is a way for you to give someone your contact information just by giving them your .tel name," said John Demco, co-found and director of Webnames.ca and the man known as the godfather of .CA for his work in creating the Internet's .ca country code top-level domain for Canada.

"If you gave me your .tel name, I would be able to put that into my cellphone and I'd be able to contact you automatically with whatever contact information you have put with that." The virtual contact link, available for businesses starting in December and for individuals from Feb. 3, opens up a whole new subdivision of lucrative cyberspace real estate. Just as .com domain names were snapped up and resold at huge profits, there is an expectation that companies that are slow to put a cyberlock on their .tel address may find themselves paying a premium to someone who has snapped it up.

The registration is staggered into three stages to forestall some of the rush to stake claims and early birds who want to protect their contact identities will pay a premium to do so. Would be .tel holders must register their .tel name with a registrar like WebNames.ca, which just started pre-booking a few days ago and already has more than 1,000 registrants pre-booked. In a first-come, first served process, pre-booking is on for the three phases of the .tel rollout which include: In Sunrise, the phase open to trademark holders and owners at a premium price of $399 US and runs from Dec. 3, 2008 to Feb. 3, 2009. The premium price includes a three-year registration of the .tel name. In Landrush, open registration runs from Feb. 3 to March 24, 2009 at a cost of $375 US that includes a three-year registration of the name.

In General, open registration starts March 24 and costs $19.99 US, which includes a one-year registration of the name. The cheapest option but by March 24, the name you want -- particularly if it is a company name or a fairly common individual's name -- may be long gone.

Several popular websites offer dot-tel domains. It's just a matter of preference where to get them. Here's a few below:

1. Network Solutions

2. Domainit.com

3. EuroDNS

4. Easy Space

5. Moniker.com