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What is a
Domain Name?
A domain name
is an identification label that defines a realm of
administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the
Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).
Domain names are used in various networking contexts and
application-specific naming and addressing purposes. They
are organized in subordinate levels (sub-domains) of the DNS
root domain, which is nameless. The first-level set of
domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the
generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent
domains com, net and org, and the country code top-level
domains (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the DNS
hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names
that are typically open for reservation by end-users that
wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, run web
sites, or create other publicly accessible Internet
resources. The registration of these domain names is usually
administered by domain name registrars who sell their
services to the public.
Individual
Internet host computers use domain names as host
identifiers, or hostnames. Hostnames are the leaf labels in
the domain name system usually without further subordinate
domain name space. Hostnames appear as a component in
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet resources such
as web sites (e.g.,
www.einvestigator.com).
Domain names are also used as simple identification labels
to indicate ownership or control of a resource. Such
examples are the realm identifiers used in the Session
Initiation Protocol (SIP), the DomainKeys used to verify DNS
domains in e-mail systems, and in many other Uniform
Resource Identifiers (URI).
An important purpose of domain names is to provide easily
recognizable names to numerically addressed Internet
resources. This abstraction allows any resource (e.g.,
website) to be moved to a different physical location in the
address topology of the network, globally or locally in an
intranet. Such a move usually requires changing the IP
address of a resource and the corresponding translation of
this IP address to and from its domain name.
Domain names are often referred to simply as domains and
domain name registrants are frequently referred to as domain
owners, although domain name registration with a registrar
does not confer any legal ownership of the domain name, only
an exclusive right of use.
This article
primarily discusses the group of domain names that are
offered by domain name registrars for registration by the
public. The Domain Name System article discusses the
technical facilities and infrastructure of the domain name
space and the hostname article deals with specific
information about the use of domain names as identifiers of
network hosts.
Domain Name Resources
The following are resources for
looking up and verifying domain names, determining domain ownership, etc.
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Access Whois |
Simple whois search that
returns domain ownership. |
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Afilias |
Search for the availability of
.info domain names. |
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Allwhois.com |
International whois lookup.
Check domain details worldwide |
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Better-Whois.com |
Queries all registrars and
allows users to receive detailed whois reports via e-mail. |
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The Big Whois |
Search the database and
register your domain name. |
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BizInfoWhois.com |
Offers whois lookups for .biz
and .information domains. |
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BookMyName.com |
Registrar for domain names
located in France. |
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Cool-Whois |
Domain search that features
historical caching of whois information. |
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dnsExit.com |
Domain registration and
searching tools. |
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Dodgy Domain Names |
Domain name search tools,
ideas and tips. |
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Domain Fellow |
Generates domain names.
Combines keywords with a database of popular words. Provides multiple
and custom domain name combination and query. |
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Domain Processor |
Domain name
registration for .com .net .org .biz and .info extensions. |
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DomainLocators.net |
Domain name registration
featuring several domain extensions. |
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DomainNameUSA.com |
Search
and register the domain names of .com, .net, .org, biz, info, and
the new .us.
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DomainPeople.com |
International accredited top level domain registrar.
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DomainSearch.com |
Search
various domain extensions in real time.
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DrWhois.com |
Domain and IP
lookup tool.
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easyWHOiS |
Lookup domains
across all registrars and most country codes.
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Fasterwhois.com |
Searches
the databases of all registrars of generic top level domains.
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iDotz.Net |
Domain name registrar
offering several choices of domain extensions.
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IP Whois |
Identifies the owner and the IP address of the domain.
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Kloth.net |
Universal whois service to look up internet domain information,
works with many different TLDs.
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Name Droppers |
Offers
searches for domain names using multiple keywords.
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Network
Solutions Whois |
Provides a form to find details about
registered domain names.
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Reverse DNS Lookup |
This service converts an IP address to the host name by searching
domain name service tables |
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Safe Domain Search |
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Does not use the WHOIS to check domains availability and does not
collect search requests.
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Schwarzl s Internet Tools |
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Domain check, email validation, webserver and IP check.
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Sharedregistry.org |
- This
tool searches the shared registry database for whois information.
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UK Domain Names
Search |
- Check UK domains with these search tools.
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US Registry Whois |
Search for
availability for the .us domain name.
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Whois Finder |
Offers free whois lookup. Checks domain name registration from worldwide
registries.
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Whois Search |
Whois
search for many domain extensions.
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Whois Source |
Domain name search
tool that allows a wildcard search.
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Whoisd |
Universal server for
domain name lookups.
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XWhois.com |
Whois service to check
domain registration from nearly all registries worldwide |
Domain Name Suffixes
Domain name suffixes are the
extensions found at the end of a website address (URL) or e-mail address
that signify the category of a particular web site.
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ac |
Top-level domain name for an educational network (same as .edu). |
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.ad |
Andorra |
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.ae |
United Arab Emirates |
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.af |
Afghanistan |
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.ag |
Antigua and Barbuda |
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.ai |
Anguilla |
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.al |
Albania |
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.am |
Armenia |
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.an |
Netherlands Antilles |
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.ao |
Angola |
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.aq |
Antarctica |
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.ar |
Argentina |
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.arpa |
A top-level domain name used for ArpaNet sites. |
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.as |
American Samoa |
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.at |
Austria |
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.au |
Australia |
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.aw |
Aruba |
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.az |
Azerbaijan |
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.ba |
Bosnia/Herzegovinia |
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.bb |
Barbados |
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.bd |
Bangladesh |
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.be |
Belgium |
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.bf |
Burkina Faso |
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.bg |
Bulgaria |
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.bh |
Bahrain |
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.bi |
Burundi |
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.bj |
Benin |
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.bm |
Bermuda |
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.bn |
Brunei Darussalam |
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.bo |
Bolivia |
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.br |
Brazil |
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.bs |
Bahamas |
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.bt |
Bhutan |
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.bv |
Bouvet Island |
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.bw |
Botswana |
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.by |
1. Belarus 2. Byelorussia |
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.bz |
Belize |
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.ca |
Canada |
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.cc |
Cocos Islands - Keelings |
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.cf |
Central African Republic |
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.cg |
Congo |
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.ch |
Switzerland |
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.ci |
Cote D’Ivoire, or Ivory Coast |
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.ck |
Cook Islands |
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.cl |
Chile |
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.cm |
Cameroon |
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.cn |
China |
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.co |
1. Colombia 2. Top-level domain name for some commercial
networks, same as .com. |
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.com |
Pronounced "dot com." A top-level domain name used for
commercial Internet sites in the United States. |
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.cr |
Costa Rica |
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.cs |
Czechoslovakia (former) |
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.cu |
Cuba |
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.cv |
Cape Verde |
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.cx |
Christmas Island |
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.cy |
Cyprus |
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.cz |
Czech Republic |
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.de |
Germany |
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.dj |
Djibouti |
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.dk |
Denmark |
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.dm |
Dominica |
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.do |
Dominican Republic |
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.dz |
Algeria |
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.ec |
Ecuador |
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.edu |
A top-level domain name used for educational sites in the United
States. |
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.ee |
Estonia |
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.eg |
Egypt |
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.eh |
Western Sahara |
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.er |
Eritrea |
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.es |
Spain |
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.et |
Ethiopia |
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.fi |
Finland |
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.firm |
An ending of an address for an Internet site for a business.
Example: http://www.legal.firm. |
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.fj |
Fiji |
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.fk |
Falkland Islands/Malvinas |
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.fm |
Micronesia |
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.fo |
Faroe Islands |
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.fr |
France |
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.fx |
Metropolitan France |
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.ga |
Gabon |
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.gb |
Great Britain |
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.gd |
Grenada |
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.ge |
Georgia |
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.gf |
French Guiana |
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.gh |
Ghana |
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.gi |
Gibraltar |
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.gl |
Greenland |
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.gm |
Gambia |
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.gn |
Guinea |
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.gov |
A top-level domain name used for a U.S. government site on the
Internet. |
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.gp |
Guadeloupe |
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.gq |
Equatorial Guinea |
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.gr |
Greece |
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.gs |
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands |
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.gt |
Guatemala |
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.gu |
Guam |
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.gw |
Guinea-Bissau |
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.gy |
Guyana |
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.hk |
Hong Kong |
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.hm |
Heard and McDonald Islands |
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.hn |
Honduras |
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.hr |
Croatia/Hrvatska |
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.ht |
Haiti |
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.hu |
Hungary |
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.id |
Indonesia |
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.ie |
Ireland |
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.il |
Israel |
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.in |
India |
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.int |
A top-level domain name used for international institutions. |
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.io |
British Indian Ocean Territory |
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.iq |
Iraq |
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.ir |
Iran |
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.is |
Iceland |
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.it |
Italy |
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.jm |
Jamaica |
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.jo |
Jordan |
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.jp |
Japan |
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.ke |
Kenya |
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.kg |
Kyrgyzstan |
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.kh |
Cambodia |
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.ki |
Kiribati |
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.km |
Comoros |
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.kn |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
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.kp |
North Korea |
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.kr |
South Korea |
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.kw |
Kuwait |
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.ky |
Cayman Islands |
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.kz |
Kazakhstan |
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.la |
Laos |
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.lb |
Lebanon |
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.lc |
Saint Lucia |
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.li |
Liechtenstein |
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.lk |
Sri Lanka |
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.lr |
Liberia |
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.ls |
Lesotho |
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.lt |
Lithuania |
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.lu |
Luxembourg |
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.lv |
Latvia |
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.ly |
Libya |
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.ma |
Morocco |
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.mc |
Monaco |
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.md |
Moldova |
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.mg |
Madagascar |
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.mh |
Marshall Islands |
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.mil |
A top-level domain name for a U.S. military site on the
Internet. |
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.mk |
Macedonia |
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.ml |
Mali |
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.mm |
Myanmar |
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.mn |
Mongolia |
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.mo |
Macau |
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.mp |
Northern Mariana Islands |
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.mq |
Martinique |
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.mr |
Mauritania |
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.ms |
Montserrat |
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.mt |
Malta |
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.mu |
Mauritius |
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.mv |
Maldives |
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.mw |
Malawi |
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.mx |
Mexico |
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.my |
Malaysia |
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.mz |
Mozambique |
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.na |
Namibia |
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.nato |
A top-level domain name used for NATO sites. |
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.nc |
New Caledonia |
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.ne |
Niger |
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.net |
A top-level domain name used for Internet administrative sites
in the United States. |
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.nf |
Norfolk Island |
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.ng |
Nigeria |
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.ni |
Nicaragua |
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.nl |
Netherlands |
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.no |
Norway |
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.nom |
An ending of an address for a personal site on the Internet. |
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.np |
Nepal |
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.nr |
Nauru |
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.nt |
Neutral Zone |
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.nu |
Niue |
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.nz |
New Zealand (Aotearoa) |
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.om |
Oman |
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.org |
A top-level domain name for organizational Internet sites in the
United States. |
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.pa |
Panama |
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.pe |
Peru |
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.pf |
French Polynesia |
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.pg |
Papua New Guinea |
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.ph |
Philippines |
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.pk |
Pakistan |
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.pl |
Poland |
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.pm |
St. Pierre and Miquelon |
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.pn |
Pitcairn |
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.pr |
Puerto Rico |
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.pt |
Portugal |
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.pw |
Palau |
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.py |
Paraguay |
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.qa |
Qatar |
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.re |
Reunion |
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.ro |
Romania |
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.ru |
Russian Federation |
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.rw |
Rwanda |
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.sa |
Saudi Arabia |
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.sb |
Solomon Islands |
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.sc |
Seychelles |
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.sd |
Sudan |
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.se |
Sweden |
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.sg |
Singapore |
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.sh |
Saint Helena |
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.si |
Slovenia |
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.sj |
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands |
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.sk |
Slovakia |
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.sl |
Sierra Leone |
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.sm |
San Marino |
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.sn |
Senegal |
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.so |
Somalia |
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.sr |
Suriname |
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.st |
Sao Torme and Principe |
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.store |
An ending of an address for an Internet site that is for a
retail business. Example: http://www.variety.store. |
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.su |
Former USSR |
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.sv |
El Salvador |
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.sy |
Syria |
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.sz |
Swaziland |
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.tc |
Turks and Caicos Islands |
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.td |
Chad |
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.tf |
French Southern Territory |
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.tg |
Togo |
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.th |
Thailand |
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.tj |
Tajikistan |
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.tk |
Tokelau |
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.tm |
Turkmenistan |
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.tn |
Tunisia |
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.to |
Tonga |
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.tp |
East Timor |
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.tr |
Turkey |
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.tt |
Trinidad and Tobago |
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.tv |
Tuvalu |
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.tw |
Taiwan |
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.tz |
Tanzania |
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.ua |
Ukraine |
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.ug |
Uganda |
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.uk |
United Kingdom |
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.um |
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands |
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.us |
United States |
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.uy |
Uruguay |
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.uz |
Uzbekistan |
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.va |
Vatican City State |
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.vc |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
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.ve |
Venezuela |
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.vg |
British Virgin Islands |
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.vi |
U.S. Virgin Islands |
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.vn |
Viet Nam |
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.vu |
Vanuatu |
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.web |
An ending of an address for an Internet site that is about the
World Wide Web |
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.wf |
Wallis and Futuna Islands |
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.ws |
Samoa |
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.ye |
Yemen |
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.yt |
Mayotte |
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.yu |
Yugoslavia |
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.za |
South Africa |
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.zm |
Zambia |
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.zr |
Zaire |
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.zw |
Zimbabw |
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Return to the top
of Domain Names. |
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