£560,000 for an 's'

.co.uk Domain name records in the UK were smashed, with cruises.co.uk being bought for £560,000. The previous record was held by recycle.co.uk, which was bought for £153,000 in October 2007.

What's more amazing about the sale is that Victoria Travel Service Ltd (VTS), the company who bought the domain already owns (and operates under) www.cruise.co.uk, effectively buying just the 's'.

However, the company having bought the domain from a German travel company Nees Reisen, was positive that their newly acquired 's' would prove a valuable purchase.

"it was a necessary move to retain dominance in the rapidly growing market for ocean cruising … 'Cruises' is consistently ranked first on Google, with 'cruise' just behind" said Seamus Conlon, managing director of VTS "We wanted the top positions so that when Internet users are searching for deals ... we are the first port of call."