The winners of the Afilias Global Innovation Contest for New TLD Ideas are in.

A panel of expert judges* -- Matthew Quint (Associate Director, Center on Global Brand Leadership, Columbia Business School), David Rogers (Executive Director, BRITE, Columbia Business School) and Kevin Murphy (Editor, domainincite.com) and Afilias senior executives -- have chosen the winners of a $5,000 first prize, a $3,000 second prize or a $1,500 third prize.

The ideas were judged on a number of criteria with a focus on the ICANN new gTLD program and how it can be used to foster innovation in the "post-.com" world.

The winners are:

• First prize: .know -- Submitted by Rob S., .know is an idea for an online knowledge base.
• Second prize: .sec -- From John P. in Germany, .sec is a concept to ensure that all data transferred across the Web is secure.
• Third prize: .med -- Via Patricia H., USA, .med is an idea for a network of verified medical professionals.

A big thank you to everyone who participated by submitting an entry and to our judges, and congratulations to our winners. We look forward to sharing the winning ideas in depth -- along with many of the other ideas received -- in a forthcoming eBook.

* Please note that Paul Twomey, originally listed as a judge, withdrew prior to the close of the competition and did not participate in the judging.