ICANN will begin accepting applications for new TDLs this week.

On January 12, ICANN will begin accepting applications for new top-level domains (TLDs) under the New gTLD program.

The program was first announced in June 2011. Experts believe that this program could potentially lead to the creation of thousands, even millions, of new domain zones.

Submitting applications will require a registration fee of $185,000 per domain. Experts estimate that obtaining such domains could be a lengthy process, taking into account the time required for all the checks, including those related to copyright infringement.

ICANN first discussed registering new top-level domains back in 2008. However, the decision to introduce new domains was postponed while discussions about this program continued.

The New gTLD program has sparked the most protests in the United States, where many large companies believe it will benefit cybersquatters.