Google has become an Icann-accredited domain name registrar, but insists that it has no immediate plans to start registering domains.

The web search giant was awarded a registrar number last week and can now act as a registrar for top level domains such as .biz, .com, .info, .name, .net, .org, and .pro.

The move has prompted speculation about the company's plans in this area. One theory is that the move could allow Google to offer cheaper domains to the cost-conscious blogger community.

But Google insists that becoming a registrar will help with its search business. "Google [has] become a domain name registrar to gain better visibility into the infrastructure of the internet," a representative told vnunet.com.

"While we have no plans to register domains at this time, we believe this information can help us increase the quality of our search results.

"We are not registering domains today and have no immediate plans to do so. We continue with our mission to organise the world's information and make it accessible and useful, and we believe this information can help us increase the quality of our search results."