.us is the official country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States within the global domain name system (DNS). US is the only means to establish an American address on the Internet. Soon, all U.S. residents, government entities, public service organizations, and businesses will be able to establish an American identity on the Internet with a short memorable domain name. (e.g., johnsmith.us, publicservice.us, mycompany.us).

Any U.S. citizen or resident, as well as any business or organization, including federal, state, and local government with a bona fide presence in the United States can register a .US domain name. One of the following eligibility requirements must be met:

• A natural person who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories or whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions, or --
  
• Any entity or organization that is incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, or any of its possessions or territories, or --
  
• An entity or organization (including federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States. See Section B.3.1 of the NeuStar proposal to the Department of Commerce for details concerning what constitutes a "bona fide presence."
  

Opportunity for .ca

The Canadian domain landscape has changed. The .ca registry, once run by a co-operative under the University of British Columbia, was transitioned to a new, non-profit corporation (CIRA) on December 1, 2000. The new registration rules allow anyone living or doing business in Canada to register an unlimited number of .ca domain names. .ca includes the following extensions: .bc.ca, ab.ca, .sk.ca, .mb.ca, .on.ca, .qc.ca, .ns.ca, .nb.ca, pe.ca, .nf.ca, .nu.ca, .yk.ca, .nt.ca

Restrictions for new .ca registrations are that the registrant must be any of the following:

• Canadian citizenship
  
• Permanent residency or legal representative of aforementioned
  
• Canadian corporations, trusts, partnerships and associations shortage of names in .com, .net, .org namespace.