Newly-loosened restrictions by the Communications Regulatory Authority now make it possible for nearly any word, name or combination of letters to be used in Finland's top-level domain names.
Previous to the change, there was a list of a few hundred forbidden words, names and expressions which were forbidden to be used in .fi domain addresses, but now that list has been abandoned.
Both profanity and racist terms were reportedly among the hundreds of previously-banned words on the list.
Finland's domain names open to all
Expressions and words considered to offensive - and even words which could be considered to incite criminal activity - are now allowed to be registered. It's also possible now to register the abbreviations of company names, which was evidently not always the case before Monday.
Additionally, rules restricting non-Finns from registering .fi domain names have been abolished, and now both foreign businesses and individuals are allowed to use the .fi domain.
Also gone are age requirements. Previously, in order to get a .fi domain name, the registrant needed to be 15 years of age and either live in the country or have Finnish citizenship.
Previously if a person wanted to register a surname or first name, they needed to provide proof of a familial connection to the name, but that rule is also no longer in force.
The Finnish Chambers of Commerce has issued a recommendation that firms review their domain names and make sure that they have registered all of the web addresses they may be interested in - before someone else grabs them.
There have been several instances of people registering the domain name of a company or trademark and then selling the names to the companies which the names belong to at extortionate prices.
Some exceptions
There are a few exceptions to the liberalised rules, however. The names of registered businesses and organisations will continue to be protected.
Official groups or firms which have previously registered their domain name at the Communications Regulatory Authority will now have to use an independent service in order to sell it.
In other words, .fi domains can no longer be obtained directly from the communications authority, but the regulating body will continue to monitor the use and registration of .fi domain names in Finland.