Cyber-speculators and counterfeiters are preparing to hijack web addresses launched under a new internet domain, .asia, British businesses have been warned.

The domain is designed to give groups dealing in Asia an alternative to America's .com web suffix and could prove to be a key gateway to the world’s largest online population.

Asia has an estimated 409 million internet users, compared with 319 million in Europe and 231 million in North America.

However, past launches of domain names have been blighted by rogue groups buying up the rights to trademarked addresses.

Some have been put up for sale at inflated prices to the legitimate owners of the brands.

Others have been used in an attempt to lure unsuspecting users to illegitimate sites.

The battle between legitimate groups has also been fierce in past registration rounds.

In the process for the allocation of the European .eu domain names last year, several companies lost their claims to their preferred pieces of cyberspace.

Land Rover was beaten to discovery.eu by the American-based Discovery Channel.

Both companies got their applications in within four minutes of registration opening.

Ralph Lauren and Nestlé both lost out to Volkswagen on the polo.eu domain name.

A similar rush is predicted when the process for registering .asia addresess begins on October 9.

Jonathan Robinson, the chief operating officer of NetNames, which manages domain names for one third of the FTSE 100, said: “With the launch date confirmed, British businesses need to ensure they protect their brands from the new threats and maximise any opportunities to build their brands in the growing Asian market.

"Many brands lost out in dramatic fashion during the launch of .eu because they didn’t take the issue seriously enough until the eleventh hour.”

Applications for .asia domain names will be split into three phases in an effort to avoid the free-for-all that accompanied the launch of .eu.

From October 9, companies will be allowed to secure registered trademarks.

In the same phase, governments will also be able to register web addresses.

From November 13, companies that have secured their trademarks will be invited to secure additional domain names related specifically to their line of business.

At the same time, registered companies with an official presence in Asia will also be able to secure their business or other trading names, whether or not they are trademarked.

The .asia domain name will then open to the public next February.

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