.bayern
| Status: | Proposed |
| country: | Bavaria |
| Manager: | Bayern Connect |
| Type: | GeoTLD |
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.bayern is a proposed new GeoTLD in ICANN's new gTLD program, "bayern" is the German word for "Bavaria", and thus would be a top level signifier for people and companies who wish associate themselves with that region of Germany. Bayern is the largest German state by area and the second most populous.[1]
It seems there may be more than one applicant for .bayern. One entity, Bayern Connect, is backed by the state government and has already announced that they are partnering with Minds + Machines to apply for the extension and run the possible registry. Minds + Machines' parent company, Top Level Domain Holdings Ltd., also has a majority holding of Bayern Connect.[2] It has been noted that Bayern Connect is one of the world's first companies to announce that it is applying for its own state-centric TLD, and the first to announce an official technical partnership to create that extension.[3]