.pt

Infobox Top level domain
name=.pt
background=#CCF


introduced=1988
type=Country code top-level domain
status=Active
registry=Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional
sponsor=Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional
intendeduse=Entities connected with flag|Portugal
actualuse=Very popular in Portugal
restrictions=Various restrictions for different subdomains; .com.pt is unlimited
structure=Registrations are taken directly at second level or at third level beneath some second-level labels
document=
disputepolicy=
website= [http://www.dns.pt/ dns.pt] |

.pt is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Portugal and is managed by the Fundação para a Computação Científica Nacional (FCCN).It has the following second-level domains:

*.com.pt: no restrictions; online registration
*.edu.pt: education
*.gov.pt: Government of Portugal
*.int.pt: international organizations or diplomatic missions in Portugal
*.net.pt: telecommunications providers
*.nome.pt: individuals ("nome" is Portuguese for name)
*.org.pt: Non-profit organizations
*.publ.pt: publications (e.g. newspapers)

Registration directly at second-level is available, with restrictions:
*.pt: Collective People, individual entrepreneurs, liberal professionals, public entities and any person/entity if owner of a trademark /request of trademark. The name must match the owner's name or the trademark or business name. ^{[https://online.dns.pt/dns/do?com=DS;3360206984;111;+PAGE(4000018)+K-CAT-COD(FAQ);]}

The *.com.pt is the easiest to obtain as there are no restrictions on naming or on local presence.

Since July 1 2005, special characters such as "ç", "é", "õ" have been supported in domain names.

Apart for .gov.pt, Portuguese subdomains were slow to catch on, because many people had already registered under .pt when the new ones became available. Many companies, colleges and people still prefer to use a .pt because these are harder to get (the chance of getting a spam link is very low) and simpler to remember. There are also inconsistencies: for example, the website of the "Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is not www.mne.gov.pt, but www.min-nestrangeiros.pt. However, the .com.pt subdomain is being heavily promoted by the registry, and now has a large number of registrations and active Web sites. Others such as .nome.pt for individuals are still very uncommon.

In the early years, FCCN tried to keep control of the .pt domain using very stringent rules, which were adjusted a number of times. The precedent set by domains which were already registered but which would not be able to be registered under updated rules led to lawyers requesting the registry of any domain based on the principle of equal treatmentFact|date=April 2007. When the situation was out of control, FCCN tried to promote subdomains like com.pt. Nevertheless, since the registration directly under .pt was still available, users tended to prefer these.

It is estimated that the .pt suffix compreends a little less than 10% of all the portuguese-language internet.

As of 3 August 2008, of the about 910 million pages google lists as being written in Portuguese (value obtained by adding [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=-site%3A.com&btnG=Search&lr=lang_pt this] to [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3A.com&btnG=Search&lr=lang_pt this] ), the .pt domain comprehends more than [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3A.pt&btnG=Search&lr=lang_pt 83 million pages] , to which should be added 7 million more, which Google reports to be written in other languages (see the total of pt pages [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3A.pt&btnG=Search&lr= here] ).] It is the third most popular portuguese-language suffix, after .br and .com, and ahead of .net, .org and .info, all above 10 million pages.

References

External links

* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/pt.htm IANA .pt whois information]
* [http://www.dns.pt .pt domain registration website]
* [http://online.dns.pt/dns/start_dns list of accredited registrars]