Centraal Reports 6,000 "Real Names" Registered

Centraal Corp. in Palo Alto, CA said it is seeing steady growth in subscribers to its Real Name System Internet navigation service.

In one month, over 6,000 Real Name addresses have been subscribed, the company said. Over half a million Real Name resolutions (one name resolution is the equivalent of one direct link similar to a click through in a banner ad) per day, or 3.5 million per week are being recorded.

Centraal unveiled the global naming system for navigating the Internet instead of using URLs in March and began providing service on AltaVista’s Search Service in May.

Subscriptions to the Real Name System have come from more than 30 countries around the world, the company said.

Several corporations and their advertising affiliates have embraced the service, including @home Network, Barnes & Noble, Ben & Jerry’s, BMW, Boddingtons, DeBeers, Federal Express, Green Bay Packers, M&Ms, Mapquest, Mercedes Benz, Royal Bank of Scotland, Visa and Yoyodyne. Companies can register company and product names or campaign slogans.

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