Oct 24 (Reuters) - Internet services firm VeriSign ( VRSN )

reported a 3.8% rise in third-quarter revenue on

Thursday, beating analyst expectations, driven by growing demand

for domain name registration as businesses expand their online

presence.

An increasing number of businesses are strengthening

their digital footprint by renewing and acquiring new,

easy-to-remember domain names to attract a wider online customer

base, benefiting domain name registry service providers like

VeriSign ( VRSN ).

VeriSign's ( VRSN ) primary business involves managing the

domain-name registries for two of the internet's most valuable

domains, .com and .net. The company also operates two of the 13

global internet root servers.

The company reported revenue of $390.6 million for the

third-quarter, up from $376.3 million a year ago. Analysts on

average expected revenue of $390.2 million, according to data

compiled by LSEG.

The Reston, Virginia-based company posted a profit of $2.07

per share for the quarter ended Sept.30, higher than the $1.83

per share it reported in the same period last year.

VeriSign ( VRSN ) processed 9.3 million new domain name registrations

for .com and .net in the third quarter, compared to 9.9 million

a year ago.