HALFWAY, Ore. — It had to happen sometime.
Choosing Internet dollars over tradition, this tiny eastern Oregon town on Wednesday became the first municipality to actually name itself for the ubiquitous "dot-com" suffix of the Internet by temporarily changing its nearly two century-old name to half.com.
In the process, it wrung from a Pennsylvania company of the same name $75,000 and 22 computers for the town's elementary school. The startup company, which bills itself as a one-on-one Internet auction site, hopes the one-year stunt will generate publicity worth much more.
The new name won't show up on any map, but the company wants to post a sign on the main road into town that would read: "Welcome to the first dot-com city in America, half.com — a k a Halfway, Oregon."
"It's been amazing," said company marketing director Mark Hughes, who has spent much of the past month shepherding the deal. "We've had calls from media around the world — Holland, Japan. We couldn't have imagined anything like this."
City Council member Merrilyn Seal said the deal, approved by unanimous vote of the council on Wednesday, is a good opportunity for both sides. "I feel we have made two halves whole," she said.
Half.com also promised to help build a Web site for the city, and it offered Internet sites to businesses in the community, as well. Many business people in town, who sell everything from fish bait to elephant garlic, already say they plan to take advantage of the offer.
The deal could turn out to be one of the cleverest marketing schemes in recent memory and a modest money-maker for the town of just over 360 people that has been ravaged by the decline of mining, logging and ranching.
"It's a gas," said Babete Beatty, who owns a bakery, restaurant and hotel. "I don't think it's going to do any harm."
But some people are worried that half.com — the company — is getting a bit too much bang for its buck. "The City Council is giving this town away," said Beatty's husband, Dale.