WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A group seeking the creation of a .eco Internet domain to promote environmental awareness has won the backing of former U.S. vice-president Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection.

Dot Eco LLC, which has applied to the regulatory Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers for the .eco extension, made the announcement at ICANN's current meeting in Mexico City.
Dot Eco said it has entered into an “integrated partnership” with Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection to secure the .eco domain.
“We fully support Dot Eco LLC in its efforts to secure the .eco top level domain through the ICANN application process and look forward to working with Dot Eco LLC to promote .eco,” Dot Eco quoted Gore as saying.
“This is a truly exciting opportunity for the environmental movement and for the Internet as a whole.”
Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his campaign against global warming and an Oscar for his green documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” is a co-founder of the Alliance for Climate Protection and its current chairman.
Dot Eco plans to apply to ICANN for the creation of .eco later this year.
The group said .eco “will be established for individuals to express their support for environmental causes, for companies to promote their environmental initiatives, and for environmental organizations to maintain their websites in a namespace that is more relevant to their core missions.” Proceeds from registration fees would be used to fund research on climate change and other environmentally related areas.