In a recent interview, Microsoft VP Brian Arbogast outlined details concerning the addition of new country specific Hotmail addresses:
We are excited to expand the MSN Hotmail account possibilities and introduce country-specific domain names for the U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Japan. A country domain is really just a country specific address. For instance, if you live in the U.K., instead of getting an e-mail address @hotmail.com, you"ll be able to get one @hotmail.co.uk. Let"s face it, with 187 million customers around the world using Hotmail, getting the exact e-mail address you want isn"t always easy. The new domains will allow for Hotmail customers in these five markets to more easily find desirable e-mail names within their country. Free accounts in the new domains will continue to receive all the benefits of the classic Hotmail service, including free anti-virus scanning and cleaning features, life management tools, rich e-mail capabilities and storage.
The new Hotmail domains are expected to be officially available later this week.
Update: Thanks to Dan C and MX from the forums for letting us know of a way to register a new domain account early.