The Internet Society (Isoc) has won control of the .org domain, which is home to millions of community groups and not-for-profit organisations.

Representing a group of 11,000 engineers and networking experts, Isoc won approval from regulatory body the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) to manage the internet's fifth-largest domain.

Isoc will in January take control from VeriSign, which agreed to give up .org last year as part of a deal that allowed it to hold on to the popular .com domain.

Icann, which oversees domain names and other aspects of the online traffic system, voted for Isoc over more than 11 commercial and non-profit making groups.

Stuart Lynn, president of Icann, said: "Isoc presented us with a very solid transition plan. Current registrants in .org should notice no interruption of service."

While the domain will be marketed to not-for-profit organisations, others will not be prohibited from registering .org names.

The domain is expected to provide a steady revenue stream for Isoc, which plans to charge a wholesale registration rate of $6 per name. VeriSign will provide $5m to assist with start-up costs.