CORDIS migrates to a Europa web address as a first step towards the new '.eu' domain name
Early 2006 will see a new '.eu' top-level domain name for addresses on the World Wide Web - joining the familiar '.com', '.org' and '.int' domain names that exist already. This domain will be administered by a European organisation. In preparation for a move to this new domain name, CORDIS will now use the Europa family of web-addresses for the European Union's institutions. The move reflects CORDIS status as an official service of the EU, provided by the Publications Office. On 10 November 2005, CORDIS, the European Union's official information service on research and innovation, changed its home address from http://cordis.europa.eu(opens in new window) to http://cordis.europa.eu(opens in new window). This URL now corresponds to a standard entrance page, including language options, as with other Europa family EU web-sites. The scale of the move means that some URLs, or web addresses, of CORDIS pages will still be visible with their old address, but gradually all will be changed to begin with the 'cordis.europa.eu' sequence. The '.int' extension will eventually be dropped, when '.eu' becomes available as the equivalent of a country-code for web-sites in the European Union in early 2006. The move should not affect CORDIS users, however, because an automatic routing system will ensure that the old 'cordis.lu' addresses (and thus any hyperlinks to such addresses) remain operational until April 2006. As always, 'deep' links to low-level pages should be avoided. CORDIS is planning a series of other preparatory moves leading up to the launch of a complete 'cordis.europa.eu' address system. During the transition period, between November 2005 and the launch of the '.eu' domain name in 2006, CORDIS will keep users informed of any necessary changes that may affect access to our information services.