The two domains are the first of 10 applications submitted in March for sponsored top-level domains to reach this stage in the selection process.
In the 1980s seven top-level domains were created: .com, .net, .org, .gov, .int, .mil, .edu. Then in November 2000, seven new names were created: .biz, .info, .name, .pro, .aero, .coop and .museum.
The 10 new applications before ICANN relate to the proposed domains: .asia, .cat, .jobs, .mail, .tel (two applications made by separate organisations), .mobi and .xxx. This last proposal is the most controversial, having already been put forward in 2000 and rejected by ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
According to ICANN, the applications have so far progressed together through a public consultation and the scrutiny of three independent evaluation panels – which assessed the proposals for technical competence, business and financial sufficiency and on whether the proposed domain belonged to a sponsored community.
Following reports from the panels, the applicants behind .post (the Universal Post Union) and .travel (the Travel Partnership Corporation) have now moved on to the next stage of the process – technical and commercial negotiations.
The remaining eight applicants are able to respond to the panels' findings and, according to ICANN, "the path each applicant now takes varies according to which sets of criteria were or were not met".