Icann, the non-profits organisation that oversees the internet, has agreed a controversial new contract that would give VeriSign, the internet services group, control of all dot-com internet addresses in perpetuity.

Critics have hit out at the move as "allowing a monopoly to expand without review" and complained that prices will spiral for owners of dot-com sites.

The deal will also end a legal dispute between VeriSign and Icann that has risked threatening Icann’s authority.

Part of the contract, which still has to be approved by the US Government, provides VeriSign with a "presumptive right of renewal" for the dot-com registry. The agreement would effectively give the company a permanent monopoly over the most famous names on the internet.

As the owner of the registry, VeriSign can charge a fixed sum every time a dot-com domain is registered or renewed. At the moment this stands at $6 per year - but VeriSign will be allowed to increase the fee by 7 per cent each year under another controversial contract clause.

With 32 million dot-com addresses in existence, this type of business is one of the most profitable on the internet. But critics are angry that VeriSign will increase charges at a time when other domain names are becoming cheaper.

Icann’s first mooted plans to give VeriSign presumptive renewal in October met with a barrage of criticism from across the internet community amid claims the move was anti-competitive.

A fortnight ago, eight of the world's biggest registrars, accounting for around 60 per cent of the world’s commercially traded domain names, asked Icann to reject the contract.

The Coalition for Icann Transparency (CFIT), a recently formed organisation set up after details of the VeriSign contract were made public, has since upped its opposition.

John Berard, a spokesman for CFIT, said: "Voting in favour of a bad deal doesn't change the deal's dynamics, it just confirms Icann’s refusal to listen to legitimate criticism coming from every corner of the internet community."

He added: "Increasing prices without justification, allowing a monopoly to expand without review and giving VeriSign perpetual ownership of the dot-com registry were wrong when they were first proposed and they're still wrong."

Times Recommends

• Darling under pressure on record public debt
• Mortgage drought deepens on 32% lending fall
• Oil prices firm after 10% drop to below $130