Move over, Melbourne – it’s Sydney’s day in the sun.

The official .sydney web domain is now wide open to all eligible customers: New South Wales residents and service providers alike can today register their own domain name ending in .sydney.

Sydney may be the second city in Australia to launch its own dedicated web address, but it is already hoping to be first for registrations.

Adrian Kinderis, chief executive of ARI Registry Services, says domain Sydney will be an innovative way for individuals and businesses to clearly display an online affiliation to the city.

Savvy registrants now have the chance to join .sydney ambassadors, such as BridgeClimb Sydney (www.bridgeclimb.sydney), What’s On Sydney (www.whatson.sydney), and the iconic Luna Park (www.lunapark.sydney) in making digital history and taking advantage of the benefits that .sydney domain names offer.

Darrin Parker, marketing manager for Luna Park Sydney, considers registering a .sydney web address an important element in the attraction’s digital marketing strategy.

Parker said:

As an Icon of the Sydney tourism industry, it was important to ensure visitors can easily find information about Luna Park on the Internet. We believe that www.lunapark.sydney will improve the online experience for our visitors and give us a competitive advantage in Sydney’s fierce tourism market.

City-specific web addresses are already proving popular, with research showing the .berlin web domain has performed better in local searches than in non-local searches in 42% of cases.

Sydney has long been considered one of the world’s leading business and tourist hubs: today it joined the likes of New York, London and Tokyo in launching its own new Top-Level Domain.

Get your own slice of .sydney here.