How many entrepreneurs have spend countless hours on GoDaddy.com plugging in brilliant ideas for a business name only to be told that it’s not available with .com…or .org and .net for that matter?

You don’t need to be certifiably brilliant to see that great .com domain names are becoming tougher to register. So when the government of Columbia deregulated their assigned extension of .co in early 2009, the tech world noticed.

Enter .CO Internet, a strategic venture formed between Arcelandia S.A. and Neustar, Inc. to administer, manage and promote the .CO extension globally. Awarded the sole distribution mandate by the government of Columbia, .CO Internet caught the eye of Twitter, which registered “t.co” recently.

Others are taking notice as well. The recent auction of the single letter domain name “e.co” pulled in a cool $81,000. Among the flying pink pigs (the auction evening swag), people enthusiastically swapped ideas of what domain names they were going to grab for their companies or for resale.

As the .CO Internet team blazes through the Landrush period (June 21-July13) towards General Availability on July 22, Lori Ann Wardi, serial entrepreneur and .CO’s Director of Marketing, sat down with me to talk business:

1-Why should someone who already has a .COM website care about .CO?

Many individuals and businesses have registered the .CO domains that correspond with registered trademarks they may have to protect their brand(s) from others who may wish to compete in the same space. But beyond brand protection, many brand owners are seeing the possibilities to use .CO to complement their existing online brands with websites that allow consumers to share content, build communities, connect, communicate and collaborate online. One particularly popular usage of the .CO domain has been as a branded URL shortener, which is becoming more and more important in a world where content needs to be shared in 140 characters or less!

The other thing is that, let’s face it, many individuals and businesses have had to settle for a less than ideal domain name when they purchased their first domain. .CO is providing them with access to new and fresh online domain name choices – so they can get the name they really want and need, not just what is left over after 25 years of .com!

2-How have large corporations reacted to the .CO availability? Has Pepsi jumped on the Pepsi.co or has Cisco registered for Cis.co domain names?

Thousands and thousands of major brands have secured their .CO domains as part of the .CO Sunrise Process, which gave brand owners first and early priority to secure domains in the extension. While I can’t speak to specific brands, if you go to [whois.co], you’ll be able to check for yourself if you have a question about the status of a particular brand or keyword online.

3-A lot of other countries deregulated their assigned extension names (i.e. Syria with .SY or Libya with .LY). These have mostly been used to create websites with “cute” names like “art.sy” or “bit.ly” and have yet to go mainstream. Do you think .CO is bound to be another extension for “cutesy” names or do you believe .CO is will become as mainstream as .COM?

.CO is broadly understood around the world to mean “company,” “corporation,” and/or other words related to Internet “commerce.” More than 20 countries already use .CO as part of their third level domain designation (e.g.,.co.uk, .co.jp, .co.il, etc.). I strongly believe that .CO has the potential to be the world’s premier domain extension of choice enabling secure Internet commerce and 21st century innovation. The .CO domain is the online space where individuals and businesses can take their dreams and ideas today and turn them into the thriving businesses and brands of tomorrow.

4-Twitter recently registered “t.co” to be used as a “link shortener” within Twitter, essentially competing with bit.ly & other link shortner services out there. Why do you think Twitter chose .CO versus other available extension names?

We are so excited to have Twitter as a .CO Founder! Since Twitter exists in a 140-character universe online, the shorter the domain the better.

The “t.co” domain works seamlessly with Twitter by providing them with a short and memorable brand name that will allow their users to share content while still retaining the Twitter brand. Because their use of t.co involves a security feature to prevent phishing, pharming and malware, and other scourges from infecting the experience of twitter users – I think the .CO domain was the optimal choice.

With our partner Neustar as our back end registry provider, our extension is built on world leading technology and a security infrastructure that is second to none.

5-Recently a single letter domain name e.co sold for $81,000. Why is that significant?

The e.co auction has set several records. First it is the shortest possible domain name available in the world, with only 3 total characters. Due to ICANN regulations, single-character .COM domains are not available for purchase.

Also, it was the first domain name the .CO registry has ever auctioned. For the extension’s very first auctioned domain name to sell for $81,000 – which is more than most extensions have sold any domain names for in their entire history – it speaks volumes about the market’s perception of the viability of the extension as a premier domain.

Lastly, the sale is significant because the winner has the opportunity to donate the proceeds to the charity of his choice. This contribution is about to make some lucky charity very, very happy! (We’re still awaiting word on which charity the winner has selected!)

6-What are the 3 top pieces of info you’d like 85 Broads members to know about .CO Internet?

a. The .CO Registry is now entering our “Landrush” launch phase that begins on June 21. During Landrush, anyone who is interested in securing a short and memorable domain name has the opportunity to submit an application before .CO is released to the general public on July 21. This is the rare window of opportunity to secure those high priority names that matter to you and your business most – even if you don’t have a trademark on the word. Premium domain names within the .CO extension will not be available for long – so it’s important that people/businesses focus on securing the names they want most during Landrush!

b. .CO is ushering in a new era on the Internet by providing people with the opportunity to get a credible, global and memorable domain of their choice. Many people, until now, have felt like they “missed their chance” online – and that all the good domain names are already taken. At .CO Internet, we believe that you shouldn’t have to settle for the scraps of the last 25 years. I guess you can say we’re democratizing domain names – providing “good names for all!”

c. The Internet is overflowing with possibility. What has actualy been created in the last 25 years couldn’t even have been dreamed up 25 years ago! .CO is the online space where possibility meets opportunity. Our tagline is “Create Your Opportunity.” In today’s day and age, people need to stop trying to find opportunities – and learn how to create them. .CO is a platform for creation. A platform for your hopes and aspirations to come to life. It’s the domain where people can fulfill their dreams and the world’s next great enterprises will have a home. The only question is, what will you create?

Landrush is currently open to anyone interested in registering domain names of high commercial value. Any interest in matching domains will go to auction. Once the Landrush process is complete, .CO domains will become available to anyone in the world through participating registrars. You can learn more by going to: [cointernet.co]