.org

.org is a (gTLD) generic top level domain, short for .organization. Like most gTLDs, .org is often pronounced in word form as 'dot-org', or as if spelled like 'dot-oh-are-gee (O R G)' not all users of the .org agree on the latter usage.

.org was one of the original top-level domains, established in January 1985. It was originally intended for use by organizations that did not meet the requirements for other gTLDs.

There are no requirements to register a .org domain, therefore anyone can register a .org domain. It was originally recommended that .org be used for non-commercial entities, however there are no registry restrictions unlike .gov or .edu top level domains. There are many commercial sites using .org, however some people question whether it is ethical. Individuals were also recommended to use .org, however most now use the alternative of .name or .info.

The .org TLD has been operated since January 1, 2003 by Public Interest Registry, who took over from VeriSign Global Registry Services.

Although .org domains can be registered to organizations anywhere in the world, many countries have a second-level domain with a similar purpose under their own two letter country code TLD.  Such second-level domains are usually of the form .org.xx or .or.xx, where xx is the ccTLD. For example .org.uk or .uk would be used for an organization in the United Kingdom.

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