[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Global registry services provider Afilias (www.afilias.info) today announced April 17, 2014, as the general availability launch date of the .KIM generic top-level domain (gTLD).

While Internet addresses have previously marked you as commercial or informational, you’ve never been able to say, “We’re all part of the same family.” That’s why .KIM is unique. A .KIM domain lets you proclaim your membership in the first family of the Internet: the KIM family!

“Kim” is an ancient Korean surname, meaning “gold,” and is the most common Korean last name: more than 10 million individuals carry the name Kim. The .KIM domain is also unrestricted, meaning a .KIM Web address is available to be registered by anyone, anywhere in the world.

As a first name, Kim is used by women and men. According to U.S. Census data, over 1.1 million Americans have a first name that is a variant of Kim (96 percent of them are female, including the most-searched Kim: Kim Kardashian).

“We are pleased to introduce the .KIM domain for Kims everywhere!” said Roland LaPlante, Senior Vice President and CMO, Afilias. “Whether your first or last name is Kim, you are one of millions who can finally have an Internet presence that features your name to the right of the dot. This historic launch enables Kims everywhere to celebrate their rightful place as the first family of the Internet.”