The test period, which was due to expire Friday, has been extended until Sept. 30. The extension should provide the Commerce Department and NSI with enough time to resolve their differences over how the new system will operate, the Commerce Department said.

NSI until recently was the sole company registering Internet addresses ending in .com, .org and .net, under a contract originally awarded to it in 1993 by the U.S. government. The Commerce Department and the nonprofit Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) have been in intense discussions with NSI about the terms under which the new competitive system will operate.

"NSI, ICANN, and the Department of Commerce have made great progress in resolving their differences, and the end of those discussions is in sight," said Andrew Pincus, Commerce Department general counsel, in the statement. "This additional extension should allow us to bring them to conclusion."

Meanwhile, 10 registrars have begun offering competing domain name registration services, including firms in France, Australia and the U.S., the statement said. Dozens more registrars have been approved to offer services once the test period is complete. The tests were originally due to have been completed June 25 but have been extended several times (see story).