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The .eu domain name extension is available to half a billion Europeans in 27 countries - so who is using it?
Plenty are it seems - current statistics show 3.24 million active .eu name registrations. The country with the largest number of .eu registrants is Germany, with nearly 1 million registrations. Next is the Netherlands with 424,000 active registrations, followed by the United Kingdom with just over 316,000.
The total number of registrations at the end of Q1 2010 represented an increase of 6.8%, or 207 266 registrations compared to the total number at the end of Q1 2009.
During the first quarter of this year, 20 722 domains out of 3.25 million were traded (changed hands), approximately one domain out of 157.
A brief history of the .eu domain extension
The European Council began discussing a single top-level domain for Europe in 1999. EURid, the European Registry of Internet Domain Names, has been managing the .eu top-level Internet domain under contract to the European Commission since May 2003. The extension was added to the Domain Name System in March 2005 and general registrations began in April 2006. EURid now has approximately 900 accredited registrars throughout the world.
As is the case with some countries, such as Australian domains only being available to residents or organizations with an established presence in Australia, only individuals and organizations residing within the European Union are eligible for a .eu name.
Even as a resident, certain .eu domain names have been reserved for use by EU Member States, candidate countries, members of the European Economic Area and European Union institutions and cannot be registered by other parties.
About this Author
Michael Bloch is an Australia-based online business consultant with over six years experience in the web hosting and domain name services industry. Michael is currently consulting for Domain Registration Services, who have been providing web hosting and domain names registration services to individuals and businesses in Australia and around the world since 1998.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Bloch
