mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd Joins World Wide Web Consortium's Mobile Web Initiative as a Sponsor; Pledges to Work with W3C and MWI to Promote Device-Independent Web.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- The mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd (mTLD) announced today that it has joined as a member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and as a sponsor of the W3C's Mobile Web Initiative (MWI).

mTLD operates the .mobi sponsored top level domain name, which was recently awarded by ICANN. .mobi will be available for registration in early 2006, at that time, the .mobi name registrants will be required to follow mTLD's best practices for mobile content. Many of these "best practices" will be derived from the collective body of work developed by the W3C's MWI working group. .mobi is specifically designed to promote an easy to use and dependable Internet experience for the consumer on any mobile device. .mobi is the only domain in the world with mandatory rules and recommended best practices for mobile content.

mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd. was formed by member companies including Ericsson, GSM Association, Hutchison, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung Electronics, Syniverse Technologies, Telefonica Moviles, TIM, T-Mobile and Vodafone.

mTLD's Interest in W3C and MWI

mTLD's guidelines for Mobile Web will depend on best practices being developed within the Mobile Web Initiative's Mobile Web Best Practices working group and other relevant standards bodies. mTLD supports the goals of the Mobile Web Initiative to ensure that the Mobile platform becomes a vehicle for the Web.

As a result, mTLD will participate in and contribute to the working group in order to create an alignment between mTLD and the Web community. The success of the Mobile Web Initiative is critical to the future of the Web as a universal information space accessible from all devices.

mTLD General Manager Neil Edwards said "mTLD is committed to working with W3C and the Web community within the Mobile Web Initiative to develop and promote ubiquitous access to the Web via the mobile handset. We feel MWI is critical to the growth of the Internet and the Web on mobile devices."

"We welcome mTLD's commitment to the MWI's objectives and are looking forward to their contributions," says Philipp Hoschka, leader of W3C's Mobile Web Initiative (http://www.w3.org/mobile). He continued, "With a total of nineteen MWI sponsors, W3C aims to bring a convenient and simple mobile Web experience to the end users."

About mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd.

mTLD Top Level Domain, Ltd. is a global company with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and is committed to fostering the utility and growth of the mobile web. mTLD is creating and maintaining the .mobi registry service and the associated "best practices guide" for creating and showcasing content and services specifically tailored for mobile devices. By facilitating the ease of use, reliability and dependability of these services, .mobi bridges the divide between the world of mobility and Internet computing. The growing need for mobile computing combined with the rapid increase in the number of devices available today represents a sizeable opportunity for the telecommunications, mobile, Internet and media industries. mTLD hopes to catalyzes business opportunities for companies servicing mobile customers with compelling new mobile services and applications - fulfilling the promise of a true mobile web. For more information, please visit www.mtldinfo.com.