“.Asia Celebrity Pioneers Program” Launched to the Praise from Creative Industries

Early Adopters include Latest Major Motion Picture Release CJ7: www.cj7.asia

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For Immediate Release

Hong Kong, 16 January 2008 – DotAsia Organisation announced the launch of its groundbreaking Celebrity Pioneer Program, offering celebrities worldwide the priority to register their name with .Asia before the public “landrush” launch on February 20, 2008. Early adopters announced included the latest major motion picture release from the director of Kung Fu Hustle, CJ7. The movie will start to utilize “www.cj7.asia” to promote its release in the next few months.

Under the program, celebrities from entertainment, art, culture, sports, business, politics, academia, are invited to participate as Celebrity Pioneers. Celebrity names are often neglected in the startup of a new domain registry. Yet they are often highly vulnerable to cyber-squatting. Through the Celebrity Pioneers Program, renowned individuals can utilize their .Asia domain to reach fans all over Asia for their next concert, movie or tour, while protecting their personal brand online.

Mr. Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia joined hands with specially invited celebrities and guests to unveil the Celebrity Pioneer Program today. Guests included acclaimed novelist Zita Law, columnist Joe Nieh, singer Remus Choy (Choy Yat Kit), Feng Shui master Mak Ling Ling, celebrity make-up artist Rick Chin, as well as Roy Szeto (Director of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre), James Chan (Director of Internet International Federation Against Copyright Theft – Greater China), and Mr. Charles Mok (Chairman of Internet Society Hong Kong).

Mr. Chung remarked, “We are extremely pleased to have received very positive and enthusiastic response around the world since the launch of .Asia Sunrise process last October. Nevertheless, the awareness in the Asia region for online brand protection is still relatively weak, especially for celebrities and artists in the region. As the intellectual property right infringement in the creative industry has been increasingly abused in recent years, many celebrities and movie stars are finding it more difficult to protect their work online. The Celebrity Pioneer Domains Program is especially designed to raise the awareness of the importance of name protection amongst entertainment, sports and other creative celebrities.” DotAsia believes that the Celebrity Pioneer Domains Program could also help raise the general awareness for proactive protection of online intellectual property rights.

Mr. Sam Ho, Executive Director and General Manager, International Federation Against Copyright Theft – Greater China (IFACT-GC) says, “IFACT-GC is pleased to be able to work with DotAsia to 2 protect the Film and TV industry in this region. We hope our joint effort will serve to deter the growth of online piracy in Asia”. Mr. Charles Mok, Chairman of Internet Society Hong Kong, commented saying, “Domain names have already become a crucial part of branding in the IT era today. Domains containing names of celebrities are often quickly snatched by cyber-squatters. Owners then end up paying exorbitant prices to buy them back. Renowned individuals from all fields should take this golden opportunity to protect their names and prevent such misfortunes from happening.”

Celebrities are thrilled to learn about the launch of the Celebrities Pioneers Program by DotAsia.

“Artists in Hong Kong do not pay enough attention to the protection of their personal name brand online, especially in the preservation of corresponding domain names. The Celebrity Pioneer Domains Program is therefore a great idea. Not only am I applying immediately for myself, I will definitely recommend it for my friends in the industry.” says Mr. Joe Nieh. Zita Law added that, “The effort from DotAsia to protect the intellectual property rights of artists online by allowing renowned individuals to register their own names with priority is a noble cause worth all the support.” Rick Chin expressed that, “I am delighted to see the launch of a new Internet address that comes from Asia and represents Asia. In the past the choice was only the already very crowded .com space or the local domain. The launch of .Asia is a perfect timing for the trend towards a global economy with emphasis on regional markets, such as the Asia wide market.”

“The Celebrity Pioneer Program launched by DotAsia will definitely help artists in Hong Kong, like myself, by enhancing the awareness of protecting our own personal brands online.” states Mr. Remus Choy. Mr Roy Szeto concluded in saying, “I am glad to finally see an organization come forward with a great program and commitment towards the protection and promotion of intellectual property rights online.”

Celebrity Pioneers Program Application:

Upcoming .Asia launch phases:

1. Landrush – from 20 Feb to 12 March 2008. This period is open to anyone around the world who wish to apply for any .Asia domain. If there is more than one applicant interested in applying for the same domain name, an auction will be held for the domain between the qualified applicants. Otherwise, domains will be allocated immediately to the applicant.

2. Go Live –begins on 26 March 2008. From this date onwards, the policy of first-come-first-serve applies.

About DotAsia Organisation:

DotAsia Organisation (www.dotasia.org) is the Sponsoring Organisation and Registry Operator for the .Asia Sponsored Generic Top Level Domain. DotAsia is a not-for-profit, community-based organisation incorporated in Hong Kong. Asia has developed into a global force in the international commercial, political and cultural network. The .Asia domain aspires to embrace this dynamism in the Asia Century to become a nucleus, intersection and breeding ground for Internet activity and development in the region. To learn more about DotAsia, please visit: http://www.registry.asia.

Media Enquiries:

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