Internet domain name seller Moniker said Israel.com is expected to sell for at least $5.5 million when it goes on the auction block May 23.

Monte Cahn, chief executive of Moniker.com, said bidding for the domain name is expected to drive the price up during the auction, the New York Post reported Thursday.

The domain name’s current owner, Jean-Noel Frydman, 46, said he did not expect the domain to become so valuable when he purchased it in 1994.

“Mainly, I didn’t want anyone to misuse it. That’s why I registered it,” he said.

Frydman said he decided to auction the domain this year to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence.

Posted: 05|9|08 at 7:03 am. Filed under: Auction News.