Sydney has joined a growing list of global cities such as London, New York, Vienna, Berlin and Melbourne with its own generic Top Level Domain.As of today (4 December) residents and businesses in the state of New South Wales, along with providers of services to the state, can apply for their own .sydney domain in the Sunrise and Landrush, or pre-release, period. Sunrise closes on 3 February while Landrush closes on 13 February. General availability with the same eligibility requirements commences on Tuesday 17 February 2015 at 11:00:00AEDT.Adrian Kinderis, CEO of ARI Registry Services – the Australian-based technology company managing .sydney and .melbourne – said the launch of .sydney would mark one of the most significant technology infrastructure projects in the State.”A .sydney web address will provide businesses, individuals and service providers to the State with an innovative way to show an online affiliation to the city and increase geographical relevance to their target audience,” Mr Kinderis said.”We know that city-based domain names like .sydney reward businesses by improving customer recall of their web address and enhancing trust through geographic association. They also provide greater message recall, increased engagement and search engine optimisation benefits that could give savvy businesses the edge over their competitors.”The .sydney gTLD is hoping to emulate the success of .melbourne, which currently has almost 3,800 domains registered. With similar policies but a larger population base, it should be anticipated registrations would be slightly higher.Mr Kinderis said there are many benefits for registering a .sydney web address and he expected many of the city’s leading businesses and proud residents to snap up the chance to own their piece of Sydney online.Applicants who apply for a .sydney domain name during the pre-release phase will get a head start to acquire their piece of Sydney’s new digital real estate.They will join some of the city’s most recognisable brands and personalities to be the first proud citizens of the State to use a .sydney domain.More information on .sydney domains is available from www.nic.sydney.