A domain name registry, also called Network Information Centre (NIC), is part of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet which converts domain names to IP addresses. It is an organisation which manages the registration of Domain names within the top-level domains for which it is responsible, controls the policies of domain name allocation and, technically operates its top-level domain.
Domain names are managed under a hierarchy headed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which manages the top of the DNS tree by administrating the data in the root nameservers.
IANA also operates the .int registry for intergovernmental organisations, the .arpa zone for protocol administration purposes, and other critical zones such as root-servers.net.
IANA delegates all other domain name authority to other domain name registries such as VeriSign.
Country code top-level domains (ccTLD) are delegated by IANA to national registries such as DENIC in Germany..
Operation
Some name registries are government departments (e.g. the registry for the Vatican www.nic.va ), Some are co-operatives of internet service providers (such as DENIC) or not-for profit companies (such as Nominet UK). Others operate as commercial organisations, such as the US registry (www.nic.us).
The allocated and assigned domain names are made available by registries by use of the Whois system and via their Domain name servers.
Some registries sell the names directly (like SWITCH in Switzerland) and others rely solely on registrars to sell them.
Policies
Allocation policies
Generally, domain name registries operate a first-come-first-served system of allocation but may reject the allocation of specific domains on the basis of political, religious, historical, legal or cultural reasons.
For example, in the United States, between 1996 and 1998, InterNIC automatically rejected domain name applications based on a list of perceived obscenities.
Registries may also control matters of interest to their local communities: for example, the German, Japanese and Polish registries have introduced internationalized domain names to allow use of local non-ASCII characters.
Dispute policies
Domains which are registered with ICANN generally have to use the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), however, DENIC requires people to use the German civil courts, and Nominet UK deals with Intellectual Property and other disputes through its own dispute resolution service.
Cost of registration
The cost of domain registration is set by each individual registry.
Second-level domains
Domain name registries may also impose a system of second-level domains on users. DENIC, the registry for Germany (.de), does not impose second level domains. AFNIC, the registry for France (.fr), has some second level domains, but not all registrants have to use them, and Nominet UK, the registry for the United Kingdom (.uk), requires all names to have a second level domain.
Worldwide registries:-
.ac Ascension Island
.ad Andorra
.ae United Arab Emirates
.aero Aviation
.af Afghanistan
.ag Antigua and Barbuda
.ai Anguilla
.al Albania
.am Armenia
.an Netherlands Antilles
.ao Angola
.aq Antarctica
.ar Argentina
.as American Samoa
.at Austria
.au Australia
.aw Aruba
.az Azerbaijan
.ba Bosnia and Herzegovina
.bb Barbados
.bd Bangladesh
.be Belgium
.bf Burkina Faso
.bg Bulgaria
.bh Bahrain
.bi Burundi
.biz Business Organizations
.bj Benin
.bm Bermuda
.bn Brunei Darussalam
.bo Bolivia
.br Brazil
.bs Bahamas
.bt Bhutan
.bv Bouvet Island
.bw Botswana
.by Belarus
.bz Belize
.ca Canada
.cat Catalan language and culture
.cc Cocos (Keeling) Islands
.cd Congo, Democratic republic of the (former Zaire)
.cf Central African Republic
.cg Congo, Republic of
.ch Switzerland
.ci Côte d'Ivoire
.ck Cook Islands
.cl Chile
.cm Cameroon
.cn China
.co Colombia
.com Commercial
.coop Co-Operative Organizations
.cr Costa Rica
.cs Czechoslovakia (former – non-existing)
.cu Cuba
.cv Cape Verde
.cx Christmas Island
.cy Cyprus
.cz Czech Republic
.de Germany
.dj Djibouti
.dk Denmark
.dm Dominica
.do Dominican Republic
.dz Algeria
.ec Ecuador
.edu Educational
.ee Estonia
.eg Egypt
.eh Western Sahara
.er Eritrea
.es Spain
.et Ethiopia
.eu European Union
.fi Finland
.fj Fiji
.fk Falkland Islands
.fm Micronesia
.fo Faroe Islands
.fr France
.ga Gabon
.gb United Kingdom
.gd Grenada
.ge Georgia
.gf French Guiana
.gg Guernsey
.gh Ghana
.gi Gibraltar
.gl Greenland
.gm Gambia
.gn Guinea
.gov US Government
.gp Guadeloupe
.gq Equatorial Guinea
.gr Greece
.gs South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
.gt Guatemala
.gu Guam
.gw Guinea-Bissau
.gy Guyana
.hk Hong Kong
.hm Heard and McDonald Islands
.hn Honduras
.hr Croatia
.ht Haiti
.hu Hungary
.id Indonesia
.ie Ireland
.il Israel
.im Isle of Man
.in India
.info Open TLD
.int International Organizations
.io British Indian Ocean Territory
.iq Iraq
.ir Iran
.is Iceland
.it Italy
.je Jersey
.jm Jamaica
.jo Jordan
.jobs Jobs
.jp Japan
.ke Kenya
.kg Kyrgyzstan
.kh Cambodia
.ki Kiribati
.km Comoros
.kn Saint Kitts and Nevis
.kp Korea, Democratic People's Republic of
.kr Korea, Republic of
.kw Kuwait
.ky Cayman Islands
.kz Kazakhstan
.la Lao People's Democratic Republic
.lb Lebanon
.lc Saint Lucia
.li Liechtenstein
.lk Sri Lanka
.lr Liberia
.ls Lesotho
.lt Lithuania
.lu Luxembourg
.lv Latvia
.ly Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
.ma Morocco
.mc Monaco
.md Moldova
.mg Madagascar
.mh Marshall Islands
.mil US Dept of Defense
.mk Macedonia
.ml Mali
.mm Myanmar
.mn Mongolia
.mo Macau
.mobi Mobile devices
.mp Northern Mariana Islands
.mq Martinique
.mr Mauritania
.ms Montserrat
.mt Malta
.mu Mauritius
.museum Museums
.mv Maldives
.mw Malawi
.mx Mexico
.my Malaysia
.mz Mozambique
.na Namibia
.name Personal
.nc New Caledonia
.ne Niger
.net Networks
.nf Norfolk Island
.ng Nigeria
.ni Nicaragua
.nl The Netherlands
.no Norway
.np Nepal
.nr Nauru
.nu Niue
.nz New Zealand
.om Oman
.org Organizations
.pa Panama
.pe Peru
.pf French Polynesia
.pg Papua New Guinea
.ph Philippines
.pk Pakistan
.pl Poland
.pm St. Pierre and Miquelon
.pn Pitcairn
.pr Puerto Rico
.ps Palestine
.pt Portugal
.pw Palau
.py Paraguay
.qa Qatar
.re Reunion
.ro Romania
.ru Russia
.rw Rwanda
.sa Saudi Arabia
.sb Solomon Islands
.sc Seychelles
.sd Sudan
.se Sweden
.sg Singapore
.sh St. Helena
.si Slovenia
.sj Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
.sk Slovakia
.sl Sierra Leone
.sm San Marino
.sn Senegal
.so Somalia
.sr Surinam
.st Sao Tome and Principe
.su USSR (former)
.sv El Salvador
.sy Syrian Arab Republic
.sz Swaziland
.tc The Turks & Caicos Islands
.td Chad
.tf French Southern Territories
.tg Togo
.th Thailand
.tj Tajikistan
.tk Tokelau
.tm Turkmenistan
.tn Tunisia
.to Tonga
.tp East Timor
.tr Turkey
.travel Travelling
.tt Trinidad and Tobago
.tv Tuvalu
.tw Taiwan
.tz Tanzania
.ua Ukraine
.ug Uganda
.uk United Kingdom
.um United States Minor Outlying Islands
.us United States
.uy Uruguay
.uz Uzbekistan
.va Holy See (Vatican City State)
.vc Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
.ve Venezuela
.vg Virgin Islands British
.vi Virgin Islands U.S
.vn Vietnam
.vu Vanuatu
.wf Wallis and Futuna Islands
.ws Samoa
.ye Yemen
.yt Mayotte
.yu Yugoslavia
.za South Africa
.zm Zambia
.zr Zaire (non-existent, see Congo)
.zw Zimbabwe
