Applications will open tomorrow to register custom top-level domains.

From Thursday, it will be possible to apply to register almost any word as a web address suffix, as an alternative to the familiar top-level domains such as .com and .co.uk.

It is expected that many of the largest organisations will apply to register their brand names, such as .pepsi and .virgin. At a cost of £120,000 just to apply - and even more again to get the new domain into operation - this is not something that makes financial sense for most (if any) small businesses.

However, it is likely that many place names and business sectors will be registered and their sub-domains offered for public sale. So for example, in the future it may be possible to register berrypoint.cardiff or berrypoint.webdesign as domain names.

The current window for applications is open for 3 months, with the first custom domains not expected to be online until 2013. At least until then, .com and .co.uk will remain the domains of choice for most small business websites in the UK.