The number of applications for new top-level domains has exceeded 500.

ICANN has not yet announced how many companies have applied for the new top-level domains, but it does know that 556 have applied. This means the number of applicants has almost quadrupled over the past month.

The number of new companies seeking domain names has increased by 220. According to ICANN, 329 applicants were registered on March 19, 254 on March 9, and only 144 at the end of February. The number of domain names applicants could be even higher, as each applicant can list up to 50 new domain extensions in an application.

Information on the names of the applicant companies will appear in early May 2012.

As a reminder, the deadline for accepting applications for new top-level domain zones is April 12.