Lima: The Presidents of Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia have rejected a decision by the organisation that manages internet protocol to grant global retailer Amazon Inc the rights to the .amazon domain.

Amazon Inc has been seeking the exclusive rights to the .amazon domain name since 2012. But Amazon basin countries - including Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia - have argued it refers to their geographic region and should not be the monopoly of one company.

The four leaders - Peru's Martin Vizcarra, Colombia's Ivan Duque, Ecuador's Lenin Moreno and Bolivia's Evo Morales - vowed to join forces to protect their countries from what they described as inadequate governance of the internet.

Last week, the global Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees internet addresses, said it decided to proceed with the designation requested by Amazon Inc pending a 30-day period of public comment.