The United States crosses sabers with Russia again, not in the name of nukes, but for control over the world’s environmental information.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, has recently made available the top-level domain name “.eco” which has sparked a cold war of words between two companies seeking to seize it’s revenue generating potential.

Californian-based start-up aptly named, Dot Eco, has the support of Former Vice President Al Gore and intends to benefit “green” organizations with funds generated through the sale of domains under the .eco classification.

On the side of the competition, Former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbechev, supports the Canadian-based company, Big Room. While they intend to fund “sustainability projects” with their profits, their strategy only allows  companies who pass special “green” requirements to obtain the domain names.

According to Vice President Gore, Big Room’s plan is “unworkable,” and Big Room’s co-founder Trevor Bowden fired back by saying it’s “unfortunate they’ve taken this approach.”

For the latest on the cold war over this hot domain, check out some of the following links.

Rival green groups bid to snatch .eco domain (Slashdot)

.Eco domain name war (Huff-Po)

Gore endorses Dot Eco domain name: But will the new domain be credible? (Triple Pundit)

Big Room’s vision for Dot Eco: Let the consumer decide who is green (Reuters)

Photo by zoomar.