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On 3 December, ICANN’s Country Code Name Supporting Organization (ccNSO) welcomed the Centro de Informatica da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, operator of the country code .MZ (Mozambique), as its 100th member.

Since its inception in 2003, the ccNSO has provided country code top-level domain name (ccTLD) managers a unique, global platform to share information and experiences with other ccTLD managers and the broader ICANN community, and to develop global policy recommendations regarding country code top-level domains.

ccNSO membership has grown significantly during recent years. In 2009 alone, the ccNSO added 18 members, including country code operators for .IL (Israel), .DE (Germany) and .EU (European Union).

The ccNSO now provides a worldwide forum for ccTLD managers to meet and discuss issues that concern them. For example, ccTLD operators collaborated in the ccNSO to develop a coordinated response to global Internet security threats, conduct studies on the use of wildcards and re-direction in ccTLDs, and develop recommendations for the introduction of internationalised ccTLDs. It is also a forum to nurture consensus, technical cooperation and skill building among ccTLDs, and facilitates the development of voluntary best practices for ccTLD managers. Concerted efforts by the ccNSO (in cooperation with many others) over the last two years will bring to the Internet in 2010 the first top-level domain names to operate without using Western-based characters, an initiative referred to as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).

ICANN looks forward to continued growth in ccNSO membership, and encourages all ccTLD operators to join.

Further Information:

ccNSO membership trends (PDF, 41K) and FAQs

Alphabetical list of all 100 ccNSO members

Application for membership (ccTLD managers only)