For businesses with an online presence, having just the right catchy domain name can make the difference between being successful or joining the list of failed dot-com ventures.

The Moniker.com auction, to be held at the World Association of Domain Name Developers' T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference (http://targetedtraffic.com/miami_show.html) Friday at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla., will feature a wide variety of intriguing domain names for auction. In addition to hell.com and hi.net, bidders will get a crack at buying appliances.net, Breathalyzer.com, CD.net, DigitalCameras.com, Iran.com, MonaLisa.com, prohibited.com, reunite.com, transplant.com and vocalist.com.

Preauction price estimates figure that auction.com could go for US$8 million to $10 million; hell.com might fetch $3 million to $5 million; DSL.com could net $5 million or more; and HMO.com might go for 42 million, according to the company. Some 500 to 700 bidders are expected to attend.

Of the 250 domain names to be auctioned, more than 100 are expected to sell, said Monte Cahn, CEO of Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Moniker.com. "It's validating what's going on in our domain industry," Cahn said. "It's giving true value to domain names."

Part of what is fueling the reselling marketplace for domain names are crashed dot-coms of recent years, which often left behind domain names as one of their last remaining and most lucrative assets, Cahn said. An easy-to-remember domain name can help buyers find Web sites from which to make purchases, he said.