E-mail and Web addresses ending in ".eu" should appear on the Internet within the next year or so, giving Europeans a unified presence online.
The Internet's key oversight body still needs to complete a contract with EURid, a nonprofit group selected by the European Commission, the 25-nation bloc's executive body, to run ".eu."
But the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers gave go-ahead to do so this year.
Within weeks, ".eu" is expected to be formally entered into the 13 computers that form the master directories for the Domain Name System, EURid said in a statement.
But it will be months before companies, groups and individuals can begin to register ".eu" names.
EURid is still developing a policy for handling early registrations for trademark holders, and on Tuesday it selected PricewaterhouseCoopers to help validate trademark claims.
Supporters of the domain name believe ".eu" - for European Union - will help promote European identity and create greater visibility for pan-European e-commerce.
AP