The new .Asia top level domain has officially launched its landrush registration period, giving firms which missed the sunrise period another chance to grab the domain name for their business.

The domain was predicted by many to be a popular one, due to the growth in economic prosperity and population in the Asia region. But according to Thomas Herbert of registrar Hostway, UK businesses have been slow to sign up.

"Dot Asia is catered around getting a greater business presence in the region, so maybe firms aren't signing up [in large numbers] because they don't want a presence, or because they feel they don't need to protect their trademarks against cybersquatting."

Herbert added that defensively registering your organisation's trademark with .asia is increasingly important as domain names are bought and sold for sometimes tens of thousands of dollars, with cybersquatters looking to snap up unregistered names.

The landrush period lasts until March 26, when .asia is set to go live.