.cym is a GeoTLD reserved for eventual assignment to the Cayman Islands. The primary top-level domain used by the Cayman Islands is .ky. The Islands already have the international three letter code, CYM. ICANN plans to increase the number of generic top-level domains,[1] and it is through this process that a .cym top-level domain might be awarded.
The Cayman Islands were previously in competition with Wales over use of the top-level domain. A campaign named "dot.CYM", not overly supported at government level, sought to have the .cym suffix for websites concerning Wales (Welsh: Cymru), the Welsh language (Welsh: Cymraeg) and Welsh culture. However, .cym was eventually assigned to the Cayman Islands[2] because ICANN's policy states that new applications for 3-letter domains will not be accepted if they match existing ISO 3-letter codes.[3] Wales was eventually granted the domain .cymru.
.cymru and .wales
[edit]In June 2012, ICANN opened the process of applications for new top level domains. Nominet, who own the .uk TLD, applied to ICANN for both .cymru and .wales.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ New gTLDs — Frequently Asked Questions – ICANN, June 2011
- ^ "Wales loses to Cayman Islands in battle for .cym domain". BBC. 2010-11-04. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
- ^ Smith, Lewis (2010-11-05). "Wales loses virtual turf war with Caymans over '.cym' domain name". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 2010-12-08. Note that the reference to the UN is strictly incorrect. The UN awards the ISO 3166-1-alpha-3 three-letter country codes but is the ICANN that awards top level domain names. Nevertheless, the latter would normally respect the former).
- ^ Nominet latest news, 14 June 2012