.wales
| Status: | Proposed |
| country: | Wales |
| Manager: | Welsh Government |
| Registry Provider: | Nominet |
| Type: | Geo TLD |
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.wales is a Geo TLD intended for the country of Wales in the United Kingdom. In February, 2012, it was announced that Nominet had been chosen to run the technical registry functions for the yet-to-be-named managing entity associated with the Welsh Government. The same entity will also be applying for .cymru with Nominet, which means ".wales" in Welsh. The planned application for 2 Welsh TLDs apparently follows debate in the country as to whether their Geo TLD should be in their little-used, native language or in English, and also plans from a now-defunct entity lobbying for .cymru and .cym.[1] Nominet has stated that it plans to establish a model whereby excess funds are reinvested in Wales and its community.[2][3] The company contracted Beaufort Research in order to discover what their stakeholders would like done with the Welsh TLDs. They have released a questionnaire, with questions relating to policy, pricing and perceived demand.[4]
Language Issues[edit | edit source]
In October, 2012, Nominet was criticized for using poor Welsh grammar and structure on its website for the Welsh TLDs. One Welsh tech blogger alleged that Google translate or a similar program to create the text. Nominet had previously promised to expand beyond its English-centric presence and establish an office in Wales with Welsh speakers.[5]