Phone and broadband provider Plusnet has announced that it has been given the go-ahead to launch its website on a new specially created .yo domain later this year aimed at businesses in the Yorkshire area. With similar domains being offered in Europe already, and with the Tour de France heading to the county later this year, Plusnet has lobbied for the Yorkshire top-level domain to be given the green-light by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) aimed at promoting Yorkshire and Yorkshire business as a whole. Customers accessing the website whilst in Yorkshire will see it transformed with the pages altered into the local dialect, aimed at improving customer experience and simplify any issues with understanding the products and services on offer to them as part of their broadband deals. It will also provide tourists to Yorkshire with an insight into the dialect. 
Those customers accessing the website outside of Yorkshire will still continue to see the traditional landing page. eCommerce Manager Ben Fretwell said:
“This is a unique opportunity for Plusnet to position itself as a champion of all things Yorkshire, providing good honest broadband for our customers. “We are extremely proud of our heritage and moving to the .Yo domain will allow us to promote us as a company that values the experience our customers have, getting them to be a part of our community and also join the Plusnet broadband experience. “We believe that this will be a positive step for our customers based in Yorkshire but also for Yorkshire tourism as a whole in promoting our great county. The dialect and slang we use here is one aspect that sticks with people in their memories when they visit the county and we want to celebrate that.”
It is anticipated that the website will launch at http://www.plusnet.yo in July this year but as a flavour of what’s to come, you can view the homepage here. Update: We’re pleased to inform you that this is, of course, an April Fool’s joke. Hands up if you fell for it? Let us know below what you thought about the spoof website and our April Fool!