NeuStar said proceeds from the auction of the one- and two-character domains will be used to market the .biz brand to the benefit of all .biz registrants.

A handful of one-character domain names already exist on the Internet, dating back to the early 1990s when the late managed all domain name registrations. These names are: . 

The .biz domain is the first top-level domain to get approval from the to sell one-character domain names, NeuStar said.

"We think one-character domain names will have strong branding appeal," says Tim Switzer, NeuStar’s vice president for Registry Services. "They’ll make for a very memorable kind of domain name."

NeuStar also sees potential in two-character names, which will be available using a combination of letters and numbers such as www.aa.biz or www.a1.biz. Two-character .biz names will be operational in October.