The

Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use ...

of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

consists of a set of

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the ...

s that constitute the root domain of the hierarchical

name space In computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithm In mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge th ...

and database. In the growth of the Internet, it became desirable to expand the initial set of six

generic top-level domain Generic top-level domains (gTLDs) are one of the categories of top-level domains (TLDs) maintained by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a standards organization that oversees globa ...

s in 1984. As a result, new top-level domain names have been proposed for implementation by

ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) is an American multistakeholder group and nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespac ...

. Such proposals included a variety of models ranging from adoption of policies for ''unrestricted gTLDs'' that could be registered by anyone for any purpose, to ''chartered gTLDs'' for specialized uses by specialized organizations. In October 2000, ICANN published a list of proposals for top-level domain strings it had received.

Geographic proposals

* – Generic geographical locations. * and – Currently being sold by Dennis Hope's " Lunar Embassy Commission" alongside , , , , , , , , . People who purchase novelty deeds for outer space property from him are also given free domains. None of these TLDs are supported at present by root servers. * – was proposed by City of Toronto officials.

Internationalized country code top-level domains

The following ccTLDs (

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

s) have been requested using a procedure known as Internationalized Domain Name (or IDN) ccTLD Fast Track Process. The following countries have national languages that use other scripts than Latin, but have no internationalized country code top-level domain, and none proposed in the above list: *

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South Ea ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to th ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination ...

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontin ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, tra ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipela ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is m ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Cent ...

Language and community

These proposals are centered on creating an independent Internet identity for linguistic and cultural communities. They are mostly inspired by the success of the domain created for websites in the

Catalan language Catalan (; autonym: , ), known in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous ...

or about the Catalan culture. * Note: The dotCYMRU, dotEUS, dotSCOT and dotBZH have formed th
ECLID
the European Cultural and Linguistic Internet Domains umbrella group to lobby for the successful and speedy application for the bids.

Technical domain name themes

* – A domain for

e-mail Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail The mail or post is a s ...

networks, proposed to facilitate fighting e-mail spam. * – A domain for general use on the

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected comp ...

Specialized and professional topics

* – environmental causes – Limited existence in 2016 and full launch in 2017. * – medical practitioners and organizations – exists from 2016. * – electronic commerce sites – exists from 2016. * –

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity Physical activity is defined as any voluntary bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Heal ...

sites

References