What's in a Domain Name? A Business (Maybe)

An address on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles or on Madison Avenue in New York is sure to dress up any business. Since paying the rent is the hard part, the formality of handing out addresses is left to the government.

But that logic does not apply on the Internet, a few companies are betting -- and two of them are asking investors to take the same gamble.

The companies, Network Solutions (NSOL Quote) and register.com, are both planning to offer new shares to the public -- Network Solutions with a secondary offering and register.com with an $80 million initial offering -- presenting investors with a vexing question: Is this really a business? ...