Chinese domain names used

[DavyBUK]

Zhu Shenshen/ Shanghai Daily news

Important Websites run by city government departments have adopted domain names using Chinese characters to make them easier for elderly people and others not fluent in pinyin to use, the city's IT commission said yesterday, Shanghai Daily reported.

Names using Chinese characters have been adopted by the Websites run by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Website (www.spcsc.com) and the local government's portal (www.shanghai.gov.cn), which attracted 200 million page-views in 2006, according to Shanghai Municipal Informatization Commission. They can still be reached using their old domain names.

http://english.eastday.com/eastday/e...ai2895150.html

[DavyBUK]

From Shanghai Daily

IMPORTANT Websites run by city government departments have adopted domain names using Chinese characters to make them easier for elderly people and others not fluent in pinyin to use, the city's IT commission said yesterday.

Names using Chinese characters have been adopted by the Websites run by the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress Website (www.spcsc.com) and the local government's portal (www.shanghai.gov.cn), which attracted 200 million page-views in 2006, according to Shanghai Municipal Informatization Commission. They can still be reached using their old domain names.

"Sites with long names are hard for us to remember and I am glad to hear about the change," said Cai Xiqin, a 50-year-old woman who sometimes surfs online.

City government Websites include information on everything from bus stop locations and how to apply for a passport to daily weather forecasts.

"We are not young and I don't know complicated skills like doing a search. We depend on the government Websites to get information," Cai added.

Across the country, more than 90 percent of government bureaus above the provincial level have adopted Chinese character domain names followed by ".cn" instead of ".com."

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/arti...cle_319017.htm

[Burnsinternet]

This is a question, not a reply. It makes sense that the government uses .cn instead of .com domains. US government web sites are all .gov (not .us or .com) domains.

What is the main distinction right now between .cn and .com for Chinese sites? Are they both just often-used extensions or is one more likely to be used by certain groups or industries? Just curious.

[Rubber Duck]

Chinese government is pushing dot CN hard. Of course all Government website use dot CN and they have booked out hundreds. From what I can see most major corportations use both but the dot com is generally the anchor. There is a lot of propaganda on this from those that have vested interests in dot CN, but have you seen a dot CN sale? Most of my buyers are Chinese, they seem to prefer dot com as an investment, but then again I don't have too many dot CN for them to buy anyway.

[Burnsinternet]

Originally Posted by Rubber Duck

... have you seen a dot CN sale?

I don't recall, but I stopped paying attention after getting ripped off by a couple of flippers. Of course, dot cn could be SO good that no one will sell them. I certainly have no idea.