All citizens of the European Union have now the full right to buy an Internet domain bearing the .eu suffix.
Everybody is getting the chance to buy .eu domains following a four-month period that let firms reserve domains to match their trademarks.
More than 300,000 business and non-profit organisations used the so-called sunrise period to apply for a .eu domain.
Interest in .eu is expected to be high as speculators snap up the most popular domain names, BBC commented.
Backed by the European Commission, the .eu domain is intended for organisations and people headquartered in the EU25's common market area.
More than 1,500 firms have signed up to sell the .eu domains at prices ranging from EUR 12 to EUR 1000.