.tv
| .tv -- The .tv corporation, a Verisign company: www.tv | |
| Introduced | 1996 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Registry | The .tv Corporation (a Verisign company) |
| Sponsor | Government of Tuvalu |
| Intended use | Entities connected with Tuvalu |
| Actual use | Marketed commercially for use in television-related sites; can be registered and used for any purpose |
| Registration restrictions | None |
| Structure | Direct second-level registrations are allowed; some second-level domains such as gov.tv are reserved for third-level domains representing entities in Tuvalu |
| Registry website | www.tv |
- For the British television channel, see .tv
.tv is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the island nation of Tuvalu. Except for reserved names like .com.tv, .net.tv, .org.tv and others, any person in the world can register a .tv domain for a fee, much of the income from which goes to the government and people of Tuvalu. The domain name is popular (and thus economically valuable) due to it being an abbreviation of the word 'television' (other similar ccTLDs are .fm, .am, .cd and .dj). Domain names used in this manner are known as domain hacks. The domain is currently operated by The .tv Corporation, a VeriSign company.
There has been some controversy as to who should be allowed to reserve .tv domain names. A significant percentage of websites with .tv URLs are pornographic or otherwise sexually explicit. While this has raised significant revenue for the small nation, it has also created conflict. Much of Tuvalu's population is conservative Christian, and some feel that revenue from those sources is immoral.
The Tuvalu government Web site is implemented as a wiki using the TikiWiki software.
Idealab, United Nations, Taiwan
Leasing the right to use the .tv domain to the Idealab company [1] gave Tuvalu enough money to join the United Nations in 2000 [2]. This enabled Tuvalu to voice its support for its long-time diplomatic and economic ally, the Republic of China (Taiwan), in the United Nations. [3] [4] (See also China and the United Nations and Foreign relations of Taiwan.)