.ASIA – Top-Level Domain (TLD)

Top Level Domains (TLD)Iwebslog

Connect with an entire region with a single domain.
The .ASIA Top-Level Domain (TLD) is an ICANN-sponsored domain extension that represents the Asia-Pacific region. A .ASIA domain gives you exposure to the region as a whole, as opposed to individual countries, such as a .JP or .CN domain extension. This is particularly useful for companies that conduct business in different Asian countries. Securing a .ASIA domain gives you regional recognition, makes it easier to manage your Web presence, and increases your exposure to the growing number of Internet users in the Asia-Pacific region.

.ASIA is available to individuals, businesses, organizations, and community groups, as long as one of your contacts lives in the Asia-Pacific region.

What can a .ASIA do?

  • Help you reach millions of Internet users in Asia with a combination of global recognition and regional significance.
  • Give your company, organization or event an online identity with an Asian flavor.
  • Protect your brand from competitors who might wish to take advantage of the name recognition generated by your popular .COM.

Customers are Searching in Their Native Languages. Do You Have a Domain that Speaks to Them?
Asia is continuing its rapid growth as the world’s most populated Internet marketplace. With already over 800 Million users connected and an expectation to expand to more than 2 billion Internet users by 2013, Asia is also the fastest growing online ecommerce market. The vast majority of these users will not be navigating the Internet in English. Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) – web addresses represented in local languages, will help drive brand identity, search patterns and Internet market behaviours online and offline.

The .asia domain opened to registrations on a first-come, first-served basis on 26 March 2008. The sunrise period for .asia began on 9 October 2007, and ended on 31 January 2008.

From 20 February 2008 to 12 March 2008, .asia was in the land rush state. Anyone meeting the .asia registration requirements could apply for any available .asia domain name. Each domain name for which there was more than one request will be auctioned among the applicants after the initial registration period closes. The auction process is considered innovative for a TLD launch; however, it may be biased against individuals and non-profit driven entities, as they typically lack the scale of funds available to commercial enterprises.

During the land rush state 473,633 domain registration applications were received, bringing the total number of applications to 505,838. (Note that these are applications for registration rather than actual registrations, so many may be contested by auction or be disqualified.) As of November 2010, the number of registered .asia domains was 182,692. As of December 2011 the number increased to 195,330 registered domains.