Bostonians finally have a place on the Internet to call their own.
Beginning today, a new Internet domain address ending in .boston, will accept registrations for non-profit organizations, such as churches and community organizations, for an annual fee of $8.75.
Eligible organizations can sign up at apply.boston, and all addresses are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Businesses and individuals can preregister on the site now for $19, with general registration for them opening Oct. 10, for a fee set at $15.
The domain is one of hundreds of new Internet place names created by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, in 2012. Several other US cities have their own domains, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Las Vegas, while other groups and businesses got the rights to domains such as .law and .wedding.
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The .boston domain was initially awarded to the city of Boston and the Boston Globe in 2012, but the media company sold off nearly all its interests in the venture to Minds + Machines Group Limited, a company specializing in the operation of Internet domains. The Globe retains a small ownership percentage in the new domain and will receive some revenue from the sale of .boston addresses.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeTechLab.