With more cyber-centric names than a science fiction novel, Hong Kong firms with new Internet identities are likely to lead Asia into a global branding war.

Lawsuits and "surfing accidents" that send Internet users to dodgy destinations are inevitable for Hong Kong, says a U.S.-based consultant and author on corporate nomenclature.

"Hong Kong will face what we've had in the United States over the last 24 months; immense litigation activity with companies fighting over names," Naseem Javed, president of U.S.-based ABC Namebank International, told Reuters in an interview.

"It just takes one front-page story about a lawsuit."

Some 50,000 domain names per day will per registered worldwide this year, compared with a total of 5,000 registered names six years ago, said Javed, author of "Domain Wars", who was here this week on the first leg of an Asian speaking tour.

A proliferation of "dotcom" names in Hong Kong, where some 25 firms have moved to "cyberbrand" in the past 13 months, could raise the firm's profiles, share prices -- and risks, he said.

AN AMERICAN INHERITANCE

Hong Kong's official use of English and its foreign business dealings makes it an ideal incubator for e-commerce, but also puts it in the crossfire of a domain-name shoot out, Javed said.

"We in the United States could have set out well-defined policies in the domain-name registration system.  But instead what we have created is a billion-name universe." Javed said.

Under current regulations, individuals, groups or companies can register domain names for a fee, even if they are similar to other domain names, including those of well known firms, he said.

"By putting a 'dash' in the name or modifying one of the letters, you can register a name that is otherwise identical to another," he said.

The loophole has led entrepreneurial Internet users to register domain names of big companies or organisations in the hope of being paid large sums to give them up.

"Every individual is registering domain names left and right for a very small amount of money, and it has created a bottleneck and a phenomenal amount of confusion," he said.

Javed said recognition of trademark values was critical to solving the problem.

"You cannot get a telephone listing under Xerox, so how can you go out on the Internet and get yourself registered under any type of company?  It makes serious calls into the credibility of the Internet," he said.

Javed's criticisms have not been in vain.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation ruled last week that a California resident who registered the name www.worldwrestlingfederation.com and offered to sell it to the Connecticut-based World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. <WWFE.O> "at significant profit" had acted in bad faith.

It ruled that the registered person had no rights or legitimate interests to the name.

MONIKER MAYHEM

Cyber-branding in Hong Kong has spawned many enigmatic new names and put a rocket under the shares of some new-look firms.

Shares in former telecom equipment make Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. <1186.HK> have not taken a backward step since the company changed its name from Tricom Holdings in May.

The stock ending at HK$17.85 on Wednesday - up 5392 percent from a year earlier.

Javed feels Pacific Century CyberWorks is still a cumbersome name and said companies should select simple names with strong identities that could travel globally and last.

"Someday 'dotcom', 'e', or 'cyber' will look as old as 'data processing' and even the word 'Web' could be replaced by something else." he said.

Hong Kong society may not be as litigious as its U.S. counterpart, but it is precisely U.S. and foreign parties that local firms have to be wary of when registering names, he added.

"In order to be successful regionally, you must think globally about a name because you don't want to be sued internationally, he said.

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