IT contractors should be advising firms to consider defensive registration of a new .co domain name, it has been claimed.

Even if the firm has no intention of using the name, protecting the brand from the damage that could be done if a .co version of their name was bought by the wrong person is essential, according to Phil Turnbull, product manager for Hostway.

Someone could set up a parallel company to take business away from the existing one, or just try to damage the brand image, he explains.

However, there is a very real commercial opportunity for firms with the .co domain name.

"I think people need to think how can I take advantage of this? Perhaps they will want to build a sub brand or have a micro site or sell something else," Mr Turnbull added.

Hostway recently announced that pre-registrations for .co domain names are underway, while they will be generally available from July 20th.