.asia

Overview

.asia is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) designated for the Asia and Pacific region. Operated by the DotAsia Organisation (a non-profit registry headquartered in Hong Kong), .asia is intended for companies, organizations and individuals with a connection to the Asia-Pacific community. The TLD supports both ASCII and internationalized domain names (IDNs) in multiple Asian scripts.

History

Launch and delegation

• Delegated into the DNS root in May 2007 and introduced to the public in 2007.
• Phased launch included a Sunrise period beginning 9 October 2007 and Landrush; public, first-come-first-served registrations opened on 26 March 2008.

Registry and governance

• Registry operator: DotAsia Organisation Ltd. (not-for-profit, membership-based, headquartered in Hong Kong).
• Technical registry service provider: Afilias (noted as the technology service provider).
• DotAsia was formed to promote Internet development and adoption across the Asia-Pacific and is governed by a community of regional ccTLDs and Internet organizations.

Early programs and milestones

• Pioneer Domains Program (launched July 20, 2007): allowed applicants to propose and secure domains based on the quality of proposals and a marketing deposit mechanism; this model influenced later domain launch programs.
• By 2013, Wikipedia reported over 455,000 registered .asia domains across many countries; IDN launch phases later attracted significant interest.

Usage and Audience

• Target audience:

  • Businesses (regional and international) seeking presence in Asia-Pacific markets.
  • Regional conferences, trade shows, and marketing campaigns focused on Asia.
  • Individuals, artists, and community groups associated with Asian communities worldwide (including diaspora communities).

• Brand positioning:

  • Marketed as the web address of choice for Asian personalities, international brands targeting Asia, and local initiatives across Asia-Pacific.
  • DotAsia emphasizes contributions to regional Internet development and community projects.

Registration Rules

• Eligibility:

  • Registrants must demonstrate an affiliation with the DotAsia community by meeting Charter Eligibility requirements.
  • Every .asia domain must be associated with a Charter Eligibility Contact to demonstrate association with the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Per DotAsia policy, a registrant can satisfy eligibility by at least one of the following: accepting the Charter Eligibility Dispute Resolution Policy (CEDRP), having a Domain Contact that is a legal entity in the DotAsia Community, or having an Administrative Contact with a postal address within the DotAsia Community.

• Restrictions and policies:

  • Classified as a sponsored TLD; the registry enforces the Charter Eligibility and CEDRP alongside UDRP and local dispute policies.
  • Infobox information lists "None" for generic restrictions, but eligibility/charter requirements must still be met.

• Structure and registration level:

  • Registrations are at the second level (example: domain.asia).

Internationalized domain names (IDNs)

• .asia supports IDNs in multiple Asian scripts, including Chinese (Han), Japanese, and Korean (Hangul).
• IDN rollout:
  • IDN Sunrise and Landrush attracted substantial applications (over 10,000 applied during the initial IDN launch period).
  • Chinese, Japanese and Korean .asia IDNs moved to first-come-first-served availability in mid-2012.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Brand and market perception:

  • Promoted as a regional identifier that signals an Asia-Pacific focus, appealing to both local initiatives and international brands targeting Asian markets.
  • DotAsia positions the TLD as contributing to regional Internet development; the organization publishes social impact reporting and supports community projects.

• Search engines:

  • Source material describes market appeal and brand positioning but does not provide explicit technical claims about search ranking behavior.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Pioneer Domains Program: an early, notable rollout innovation that allowed domain grants based on application quality and marketing commitments.

• Controversy during launch:

  • Allegations were raised about Pool.com (auction provider) and potential conflicts of interest involving premium Sunrise/Landrush registrations. Specific domain names cited in public discussion included porn.asia, dating.asia, insurance.asia, lotto.asia, stocks.asia, auction.asia, beer.asia, fitness.asia, girls.asia, and wine.asia.
  • DotAsia issued a Special Advisory clarifying rules on conflicts of interest and bid rigging; many contested domains were reportedly awarded during Sunrise with validated trademark claims.

• Community and registry activities:

  • DotAsia supports regional initiatives and has partnered on registry operations and community projects, including providing front-end registry services for related TLDs and supporting the operation of .MO (Macao) in partnership with other organizations.

% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

domain:       ASIA

organisation: DotAsia Organisation Ltd.
address:      12/F, Daily House
address:      35-37 Haiphong Road
address:      Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon
address:      Hong Kong

contact:      administrative
name:         DotAsia Administrative Contact
organisation: DotAsia Organisation Ltd.
address:      12/F, Daily House
address:      35-37 Haiphong Road
address:      Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon
address:      Hong Kong
phone:        +852 8171 1714
fax-no:       +852 2125 8484
e-mail:       admin@iana.whois.asia

contact:      technical
name:         DotAsia Technical Contact
organisation: DotAsia Organisation Ltd.
address:      12/F, Daily House
address:      35-37 Haiphong Road
address:      Tsim Sha Tsui Kowloon
address:      Hong Kong
phone:        +852 8171 1714
fax-no:       +852 2125 8484
e-mail:       tech@iana.whois.asia

nserver:      A0.ASIA.AFILIAS-NST.INFO 199.19.55.1 2001:500:d:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      A2.ASIA.AFILIAS-NST.INFO 199.249.114.1 2001:500:42:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      B0.ASIA.AFILIAS-NST.ASIA 199.254.28.1 2001:500:16:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      B2.ASIA.AFILIAS-NST.ORG 199.249.122.1 2001:500:4a:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      C0.ASIA.AFILIAS-NST.INFO 199.254.29.1 2001:500:17:0:0:0:0:1
nserver:      D0.ASIA.AFILIAS-NST.ASIA 199.254.30.1 2001:500:18:0:0:0:0:1
ds-rdata:     23407 8 2 0f51a4e5ef96b66c2078f7735b41860c83da0746ddda1a1b2b893ab056b3058c

whois:        whois.nic.asia

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.registry.asia

created:      2007-05-02
changed:      2023-08-03
source:       IANA