YOU could set up a .scot email address within months as the provider of specialist web domains branches out, The National can reveal.

DotScot Registry allows companies and individuals to set up blogs, company pages and ecommerce sites using .scot addresses to “celebrate their Scottish connection”.

Now the Glasgow based firm, which launched in 2014, is working to launch email addresses this spring.

The news has emerged on Burns Night as Scots around the world honour their culture and heritage. Digital media executive Chiara Bullen said the move will cater to customers at home and abroad. She told The National: “We have a really active online community with people who are passionate about the domain and what it represents.

“We want people to use it to celebrate their Scottish connection and culture.

“You don’t have to be in Scotland to use it, there are a lot of people with Scottish links in the [US] and Canada, for instance, who we expect will want to use this.”

The secure service will be free for the first year and available to users who do not own a website or .scot domain. The digital addresses will end @mail.scot and @blether.scot, with other options also planned.

Gavin McCutcheon, managing director of DotScot Registry, said: “The release of the .scot email address will make the .scot brand more accessible as it will allow those without a domain to identify with the worldwide family of Scots and stand out online.

“It will be the first email address of its kind to allow individuals to express their Scottish identity and we anticipate an enthusiastic response.”

The move comes as the organisation encourages more people to take up its customisable domains using the Scots language. Current examples include the makforrit.scot and mindyerlanguage.scot blogs, both of which promote the use of the leid. The Registry also wants to encourage more Gaelic-language operators to come on board.

Bullen says having those four letters at the end of a web address helps individuals and businesses ensure their content stands out in an increasingly busy online market.

The number of existing websites broke the one billion barrier in 2014 and the Scottish Government has transferred to a .scot domain.

Bullen said: “It’s about the whole concept of Scottishness. Using .scot makes your Scottish links very clear at a glance — there’s no need to elaborate, it’s a signpost for web users who are searching for content related to Scotland.

“A lot of our users say it has really helped them stand out. One tourism business was thrilled at how much it helped them draw traffic.”