LONDON, December 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Telnic Limited (http://www.telnic.org), the Registry Operator for the new .tel top level domain-driven directory service, announced today that it had received thousands of applications from leading brands for the new, mobile-optimized contacts directory on the internet within the first hours of opening registration period for trademark owners.

We're delighted to see applications from such a breadth of businesses and categories worldwide, said Khashayar Mahdavi, CEO of Telnic. Trademark owners have obviously got the message that .tel is a huge departure from .com-type domains that host web content and is instead an innovative platform for communications.

Within the first minute of Sunrise (the two-month period for trademark holders to apply for their .tel domains), Google, Apple, Microsoft, News Corporation, MySpace, Amex, BP, FedEx, Virgin, Sony, Gap, Visa, McDonalds, Orange, MTV, Dell, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Honda, Intel, BlackBerry, PG, Starbucks, Subway, Johnson Johnson, Dominos, Cisco, Unilever, Best Buy, British Airways and Victoria's Secret amongst others had all applied for their .tel domains. Other applications included:

- Prestige Brands: Jimmy Choo, Ferrari, Maserati, Versace, Tiffany Co, Porsche, Lamborghini, Davos-Klosters, St. Moritz, Marks Spencer, Bose, Hermes, Patek Philippe, DeBeers, Rolex, BMW, Orient Express, Ugg, Christian Dior, Faberge - Consulting: Accenture, BCG, Arthur D Little, Deloitte Touche, KPMG, Mazars - Banking, Insurance Professional Services: HSBC, Allianz, Barclays Wealth, Citi Bank, Charles Schwab, Standard Chartered, Schroders, Prudential, Sun Life, ING Bank, ANZ Bank, Santander, HBOS, NSI/Premium Bonds, BBVA Group, ABN Amro, Halifax, Standard Life, Fidelity - Hospitality: Marriott, InterHotel, Ritz-Carlton, Hard Rock Cafe, Sofitel, Diners Club International, Novotel, Renaissance Hotels - Energy: Ashland, Castrol, Conoco, ELF, Total, Esso, National Grid, BP - Health Pharmaceutical: Novartis, Astra-Zeneca, Baxter, BMA, Boston Scientific, Philips, Merck, Molnlycke - Airlines, Aerospace Aviation: Airbus, BAE Systems, Fokker, Virgin Atlantic, Air China, Airmiles, ATAG, British Airways, EasyJet, KLM, Japan Airlines, - Media: BBC, Sony Pictures, Financial Times, Le Figaro, The Economist, Freemantle Media, Les, Echos, Pop Idol, The X Factor, Star Academy, Bloomberg, Viacom, VH1, News Corporation, Comedy Central, Showtime, IDG, CBS News, CNET, Forbes, CNN, Sky News, 20th Century Fox, Discovery Channel, Thomson, Nielsen, Film4 - Sports Games: New York Yankees, Boston Redsox, Texas Rangers, World Series, Hasbro, Daytona - Information Online Services: Yellow Pages, Lastminute.com, Pages Jaunes, Pages Blanches, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Ticketmaster, National Car Rental, Easy Rent a Car, Ebookers

Trademark owners only have until February 2nd 2009 to register their trademarks for .tel domains in this protected period, after which time the ICANN-approved Universal Dispute Resolution Process (UDRP) will enable brand owners which have not protected their trademarks to re-gain them. This can however be a long and costly process.

Final numbers for .tel domains in Sunrise will be released after the period has closed, as applications need to be validated by third party validation agent, Deloitte, prior to being awarded to the applicants, to make sure that the trademark being applied for is legitimately held.

About Telnic Limited

Founded in 2000, Telnic Limited is the UK-based Registry Operator and Sponsoring Organization for the new .tel sponsored top level domain (sTLD). For more information regarding the .tel domain or Telnic Limited, please visit http://www.telnic.org. .tel will launch to trademark holders on December 3, 2008 and everyone else on February 3, 2009.

Contact: Beth Moore, Account Executive, Edelman London, Tel: +44(0)20-30-472068, Email: beth.moore@edelman.com