Will thousands of new top level domains change the internet?

The process of introducing new generic top level domains is already underway. Generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, are the suffixes at the end of web addresses, such as .com, .org and .net. We could have as many as 1,400 new gTLDs sometime this year. While the gTLDs may be "just code" - a set of internet protocols authorised by ICANN , the Internet Corporation for the Assigning of Names and Numbers - this development could radically change the architecture of the internet.

Alternatively, it could only have modest impact on how we navigate information on the internet and the supremacy of .com could persist. Either way, two outcomes seem clear. First, the change will produce winners and losers and will not result in a level playing field for competition. Second, trademark rights holders have had tremendous influence on the process of introducing new gTLDs and will experience lasting results both in the domain space, and in the global protection of trademarks.

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/04/201342312710292956.html