The American Registry for Internet Numbers has announced that it only has a few IPv4 addresses left.

On July 1, the ARIN – in charge of North America – was forced to turn down a request for a block of IP addresses for the first time in history. The CIO Richard Jimmerson told CBS News "We are weeks away from having zero left."

However, this is no real surprise, as the current IPv4 4-digit format was only ever meant to be temporary.

When the IPv4 addreses are exhausted, Internet users will have to switch to IPv6, which has been in the works since the mid-1990s.

Many companies have already set themselves up to make the transition easier. – AFP Relaxnews