Guide to domain extensions > County code top level domains
Country code top level domains (ccTLDs) are used to identify countries and territies, such as .ie for Ireland and .eu for European Union.
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.ie
Introduced in 1988, .ie is the ccTLD for the island of Ireland. It was managed by University College Dublin until 2000, when the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) was created. The IEDR is a managed registry and the registration policy is stricter than most registries. IE domain names are primarily aimed at businesses or organisations based in Ireland, or with a significant connection to Ireland. Personal domain names are not currently allowed (but this is under review) and registrants must prove their eligibility.
.org.uk
Established in 1985, .org.uk is the ccTLD for organisations based in the United Kingdom. Until the mid-1990s the .uk registry was managed by a group who called themselves the UK Naming Committee - a mailing list representating UK Internet service providers. In 1996 with the expansion of the world wide world and an increase in the volume of registrations, a non-profit organisation called Nominet UK was formed to take over the managment.
.org.uk domains can be registered by anyone and applicants do not need any connection with the UK. It is suitable for charities, trades unions, political parties, community groups, educational councils, professional institutions, etc.
.co.uk
Established in 1985, .co.uk is the ccTLD for companies based in the United Kingdom. Until the mid-1990s the .uk registry was managed by a group who called themselves the UK Naming Committee - a mailing list representating UK Internet service providers. In 1996 with the expansion of the world wide world and an increase in the volume of registrations, a non-profit organisation called Nominet UK was formed to take over the managment.
.co.uk domains are the most popular .uk extension with over 6 million registrations. They can be registered by anyone and applicants do not need any connection with the UK.
.eu
Approved by ICANN in March 2005, it's main users are websites with pan-European or cross-border audiences. It is used to emphasise a websites 'European identity' and it is administered by EURid, a consortium consisting of the local ccTLD registry operators of Belgium, Czech Republic, Sweden and Italy.
The launch was split into different phases. Sunrise 1 began on 7 December 2005 and allowed applications from trademark owners and geographic names. Sunrise 2 began on 7 February 2006 and allowed applications from companies, trade and personal names. All Sunrise applications had to be accompanied by documents proving the claim to ownership of the domain, and the final decision was made by EURid's validation agent, PricewaterhouseCoopers Belgium.
On 7 April 2006 registration opened to all EU residents and businesses.
There was lots of initial criticism as the registration system suffered from long queues and unresponsiveness.
However over 700,000 domains were registered in the first 4 hours, and as of August 2007 there are over 2.5 million .eu domains registered. It is the 3rd largest registry in the EU and the 7th largest in the world.
.tv
Introduced in 1996, .tv is the domain for the island of Tuvalu which is an independent nation and part of the Commonwealth. It is located near Fiji in the Pacific Ocean and it is the second least populated country in the world. The registry is operated by a subsidary of Verisign, who market the TLD as the domain for television-related and rich media content websites. The Tuvaluan government make $4,000,000 a year from the deal.
.ws
Introduced in 1995, .ws is the domain for Western Samoa which is a group of small islands and islets in the Pacific Ocean. It is administered by SamoaNIC for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Samoa. Since 2000 it is marketed worlwide by Global Domains International who realised the potential to sell "website" domains as an alternative to dot-com.
.us
Established in 1985, .us is the domain extension for, you've guessed it, the United States. It has been operated by Neustar Inc. under a contract from the US Department of Commerce since 2002, when second-level domains became available for registration. US state authorities all have their own two-digit second-level domain (for example .tx.us for Texas).Registrants must be US citizens, residents, organisations or foreign entities with a presence in the US.
.me.uk
Introduced in 2002, .me.uk is the ccTLD for individuals in the United Kingdom, although in practice they can be registered by anyone and applicants do not need any connection with the UK. Mr John Doe would be expected to register johndoe.me.uk, although many people do not follow the suggested format. The registration policy has recently been tightened to prevent businesses from using .me.uk domains.
.in
Established in 1989, .in is the domain for India. It is operated by INRegistry. In 2005 limits to .in registrations were removed to allow for unlimited second-level domain registration. Only 7000 names had been registered between 1992 and 2004, but by the end of 2006, that number had increased to over 200,000, with registrants in over 150 countries. Around 80% of the registrants are from India, Germany, and the United States.