When you think of the Internet, you probably think of ".com." Just what do those three letters at the end of a World Wide Web address mean?

    Every computer that hosts data on the Internet has a unique numerical address. For example, the numerical address for the White House is 198.137.240.100. But since few people want to remember long strings of numbers, the Domain Name System (DNS) was developed. DNS, a critical part of the Internet's technical infrastructure, correlates a numerical address to a word. To access the White House website, you could type its number into the address box of your web browser. But most people prefer to use "www.whitehouse.gov." In this case, the domain name is whitehouse.gov.

    In general, the three-letter domain name suffix is known as a generic top-level domain and describes the type of organization. In the last few years, the lines have somewhat blurred between these categories.

    • .com - business (commercial)
    • .edu - educational
    • .org - non-profit
    • .mil - military
    • .net - network provider
    • .gov - government

    A domain name always has two or more parts separated by dots and typically consists of some form of an organization's name and the three-letter suffix. For example, the domain name for IBM is "ibm.com"; the United Nations is "un.org."

    If a domain name is available, and provided it does not infringe on an existing trademark, anyone can register the name for $35 a year through Network Solutions, Inc., which is authorized to register .com, .net and .org domains. You can use the box below to see if a name is available. Don't be surprised if the .com name you want is already taken, however. Of the over 8 million domain names, 85% are .com domains.

    ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, manages the Domain Name System. As of this writing, there are plans to add additional top-level domains, such as .web and .store. When that will actually happen is anybody's guess. To check for, or register a domain name, type it into the search box. It should take this form: myname.com  In addition to the generic top-level domains, 244 national top-level domains were established for countries and territories, for example:

    .au - Australia
    .ca - Canada
    .fr - France
    .de - Germany
    .uk - United Kingdom

    For US $275 per name, you can also register an international domain name with Net Names. Be aware that some countries have restrictions for registering names. If you plan to register your own domain name, whether it's a .com or not, keep these tips in mind: The shorter the name, the better. (But it should reflect your family name, interest or business.) The name should be easy to remember. It should be easy to type without making mistakes. Remember, the Internet is global. Ideally, a domain name will "read" in a language other than English.

    域名

    当你想到因特网的时候, 你或许想到 ".com。"那三个在万维网地址后面的字母究竟表示什么含义呢?
 
    每部在因特网上存储数据的计算机有一个独特的数字住址。 举例来说，白宫的数字住址是198.137.240.100。但是因为很少有人愿意去记这一长串的数字, 域名系统 (DNS) 就开发出来了。DNS是因特网技术基础的一个关键组成部份, 它把一组数字地址和一个单词联系起来。 如要访问白宫网站，你可以在你的网页浏览器的地址栏输入它的数字地址。 但是大多数的人更愿意输入"www.whitehouse.gov" 。这时，其域名是 whitehouse.gov 。

    大体上，这三个字母组成的域名后缀即是一个最高等级的域名总称并描述组织的类型。 在最近几年中，这些组织类型之间的界限已趋模糊。

    com- 商业性站点
    edu- 教育性站点
    org- 非营利性组织站点
    mil - 军事性站点
    net - 网络服务供应商
    gov - 政府

    一个域名总是由二个或更多的小圆点隔开，典型的域名则往往包含该组织名称的某种形式和三个字母的后缀。譬如， IBM的域名是" ibm.com"; 联合国的是 " un.org"。

    如果一个域名是未被占用, 而且假设它与一个现有的商标不相冲突, 任何人都能以35美元一年到网络解决方案集团去注册一个域名，该公司获授权可以分配com，net和org 的域名。你可以通过在地址栏中输入域名，看看其是否已被占用。如果你发现想申请的.com域名已被别人占用，不用惊讶。毕竟，在超过八百万个域名中，85% 是.com 的域名。

    ICANN，因特网域名与地址管理委员会，负责管理域名系统。 在本文的写作过程中,有计划提出增加更多的最高等级域名, 比如.web和.store。任何人都在猜测这何时会成为现实。 检测或注册一个域名,输入到搜索栏搜寻就可以了。 它应当以这种形式出现: myname.com。除了最高等级的域名总称，还专门为各个国家和地区设立了244个国家级的最高域名, 例如:

    au- 澳大利亚
    ca- 加拿大
    fr- 法国
    de- 德国
    uk- 英国

    你也可以使用网络名来登记一个国际域名，每个域名275美金。但要注意有些国家对注册域名有一定限制。 如果你打算注册一个你自己的域名, 不论是否是com, 要记住以下的提示: 域名愈短愈好。(但它应该能反映出你的姓氏，兴趣或从事的行业)。这个名字应当简单易记。而且应当易于输入并不易出错。要记住, 因特网是全球的。理想的状况是一个域名可以用除英语之外的另一种语言“读出来”。