Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams hailed the new registry as "another feather in the cap" of St. Maarten, which she said was the best place in the world.

 

.SX is the recently established Internet country-code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for St. Maarten, which became an autonomous country in the Dutch Kingdom on October 10, 2010.

 

.SX succeeds the retiring .AN country code for the former Netherlands Antilles.

 

The registry of the .SX Top Level Domain (TLD) is managed by SX Registry SA.

 

Held by St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with SX Registry, the launch promotes using and registering .SX domain names on a national and an international level.

Congratulating parties on the launch, Wescot-Williams said she had been excited about the .SX registry as anything that profiles St. Maarten is exciting for her. "That's why we continue to build this country," she said.

 

Chamber Executive Director Claret Connor said he was proud to be part of this first initiative for country St. Maarten, whereby businesses can register their .SX domain name at the Chamber, which has opened a registration desk for this purpose. He said with the density and competition on the World Wide Web, it is important for businesses to remain ahead of the curve. He described the new registry as the new symbol for St. Maarten on the Web.

 

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SX Registry Normand Fortier gave an insight into the formation of the registry for St. Maarten, which began back in 2010 and officially became available in November last year on a first-come, first-served basis. The process went through six phases leading up to the official launch. Fortier described the registry as a new brand for St. Maarten similar to, among other brands, Apple and Coke.

 

Registering for an .SX domain is about US $35 per year. Fortier said businesses that register for one year are not taken seriously on the Web, only those who register for five to 10 years.

 

Chamber President Tamara Leonard said the launch was proof that stakeholders were taking steps to ensure that St. Maarten's identity as a country was completed. It is available to local businesses and gives them the opportunity to open their doors to the world, she noted. She urged business to get their .SX domain names.

 

During the ceremony the Chamber presented the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) with a five-year, free registration of an .SX domain. SCDF can now use the domain name

carnivalsxm.sx.

 

SCDF President Michael Granger thanked the Chamber for its generous donation and said it was timely as the Foundation was just about to finalise its .com Website. He said government had been very generous in increasing the marketing subsidy for Carnival and the Foundation had developed a strategic marketing plan and had its own branding logo which would be used to brand Carnival all around the world.

 

The event was held at Sheer Restaurant on Front Street and ended with a cocktail reception for invited guests.

 

(The Daily Herald)