.IN registrations double this year

The most well-known internet domain extension is .COM. However, .IN "� the allocated country code top level domain (ccTLD) for India "� is fast catching the fancy of the internet businesses and users as the numbers show.

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and Afilias India recently announced that .in domain registrations have touched the 200,000 figure, almost double that of last year.

Domain names are the location of your website on the internet. Each domain also has an extension such as .COM, .IN, .EDU or .ORG. Says Ram Mohan, director of Afilias India, "With this development (doubling of .IN domain names), the .IN domain joins generic top level domains .INFO and .ORG."

According to Afilias, the amount of time for the internet users to have a .IN website load and appear in their browser has been shortened to less than 40 milliseconds, compared to approximately 5,000 milliseconds thanks to all "the enhancements" brought about by Afilias.

Since its official relaunch in January 2005, the .IN domain surpassed 100,000 registrations in just over 90 days. .IN's relaunch began in January with the opening of a 21-day sunrise period for trademark owners. More than 2,000 names were registered during this period, or approximately four per cent of total registrations.

.IN was officially opened to the public on February 16, 2005 and saw more than 45,000 registrations (that is 52 per cent of total names) during the initial 24-hour period. The .IN registry, after its re-launch in 2005, now boasts of a more competitive price, expanded eligibility, a state of the art technology platform, and broader distribution through the global registrar network.

Over 62 per cent of .IN registrations are in India, which is an indicator that Indian enterprises embrace their intended internet home. With Europe clocking 18 per cent and North America accounting for 12 per cent, the .IN registrations here reflect the number of expatriate Indians as well as the growing recognition of India's market potential among international firms, opines Afilias.

Over 150 different countries are represented by .IN domain owners and the most popular countries being India, US and Germany, which together account for over 81 per cent of registrations.

Other popular extensions like .info, .ORG and several ccTLDs are examples of other successful top-level domains (TLDs). "Companies, individuals and organisations in India and abroad are eligible to use a .IN domain, which is a unique symbol of India and its role in the digital world," feels Mohan. Over 72 per cent of all .IN domains are active sites. The figure is similar to active site data for top-level domains such as .INFO and .COM.