.pw
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| Status: | Active |
| country: | Palau |
| Manager: | Directi |
| Registry Provider: | CentralNic |
| Date Implemented: | 1997 |
| Type: | ccTLD |
More information: 
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.pw is the ccTLD for Palau. It was first introduced in 1997, and was originally restricted to use by the citizens and companies in Palau;[1] as it stands, the namespace is exclusively licensed to Directi, who uses it to host second level domain names that provide a variety of services to end consumers, and they also provide third level domains carved out for the residents of Palau.[2]
.pw was relaunched as an ccTLD in October, 2012, in the midst of ICANN 45 in Toronto and continued progress in the new gTLD program. The new registry entity, a subsidiary of Directi, is Professional Web, which is the same acronym developed for the namespace. Directi CEO, Bhavin Turakhia, hopes that its low-cost pricing model and the wide availability of quality domains will contribute to its success. CentralNic will offer technical registry servies. Sunrise is expected to start in early December and run for about 70 days. Landrush will run for a month, starting in February 2013. Pricing has yet to be finalized.
The Professional Web was originally a project of EnCirca, which Directi acquired in 2004. The original plan for the TLD was to use it to create a bundled social network and text messaging service, and so registrations for the ccTLD haven't been accepted for some time.[3]
.pw is the first TLD that Directi is offering registry services for, though it has also applied for 30 new gTLDs.
Second-Level Domains[edit | edit source]
The second level domains provided by Directi are:
- co.pw: for commercial use
- ne.pw: for technology service providers
- or.pw: for non-commercial organizations
- ed.pw: for educational institutions
- go.pw: for governmental agencies only
- belau.pw: for indigenous art, history and culture use, tourism and general purposes[4]