.mu

Overview

• .mu is the country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Mauritius.
• It is used by entities connected with Mauritius and is also marketed and used by music- and museum-related sites (e.g., as a shorthand for "music" or "museum").
• Registrations are processed via accredited registrars; the registry/administration is handled by the Mauritius Network Information Centre (MUNIC) and Internet Direct Ltd.

History

• Introduced: 6 October 1995.
• Registry / Sponsor: Internet Direct Ltd (operates the registry) and the Mauritius Network Information Centre (MUNIC) is the administrative body.
• Key events:
  • 2009: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Internet Direct and the Government of Mauritius.
  • 2011–2012: The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA Mauritius) published consultation papers considering re-delegation; consultations indicated the government had no clear case without cooperation with Internet Direct Ltd.
  • 2013–2015: A dispute arose between Internet Direct Ltd and the Government over unpaid registration/renewal fees for government domains; some gov.mu services were disrupted in 2014. The government formally withdrew its case in January 2015 and discussions for settlement took place.

Usage and Audience

• Intended use: Entities connected with Mauritius.
• Actual use: Many sites tied to Mauritius; notable additional use cases include:
  • Music-related sites and artists using .mu as a short form of "music" (examples include bands and labels).
  • Organizations using .mu creatively (for example, link shorteners such as frnd.mu).
• Registrars sometimes market .mu for "music" and "museum" branding.

Registration Rules

• Structure:
  • Registrations are allowed at the second level (example.mu) and at third level beneath several second-level labels.
  • Common second-level labels: .com.mu, .net.mu, .org.mu, .biz.mu, .edu.mu, .gov.mu, .ac.mu, .co.mu (historically used), and .or.mu (historically used).
• Restrictions and policy:
  • The Wikipedia infobox lists "None" under restrictions for registrations, but official MU-NIC policy requires domain use to comply with Mauritian law and the MU-NIC acceptable-use policies.
  • ICANNWiki / MU-NIC policies list prohibited activities, including:
    • Intellectual property violations (infringing copyrights, trademarks, etc.).
    • Bad-faith registrations (cybersquatting, blocking registrations, confusingly similar to well-known marks without rights).
    • Unlawful or offensive material as defined under Mauritian law.
    • Privacy/confidentiality breaches and failure to comply with court or government orders.
• Registrations are handled by accredited registrars; specific minimum/maximum registration periods and allowed character sets are not detailed in the provided sources.

SEO and Brand Impact

• Practical brand uses noted in sources:
  • Some registrars market .mu as suitable for music (.music) and museum (.museum) uses, which has led to adoption by musical artists, labels and projects.
  • Creative uses such as short domains/link shorteners (e.g., frnd.mu) are in use.
• The provided sources do not supply technical guidance or official statements about search-engine treatment; branding impact is evidenced by adoption among music-related sites and creative short-domain usage.

Notable Cases or Examples

• Music and entertainment examples cited as using .mu:
  • Bands and artists: Athlete, Lonestar, Muse, Pendragon, Amethystium, Blessed By A Broken Heart.
  • Labels/projects: Planet Mu.
  • Commercial use: Musician's Friend uses frnd.mu as a link shortener; Radio-Canada used a .mu URL for music streaming pages.
• Government dispute and service interruption:
  • Disagreements between Internet Direct Ltd and the Government of Mauritius over unpaid fees led to accessibility issues for gov.mu domains in 2014 and legal/administrative dispute through 2015, later withdrawn by the government in January 2015 while settlement discussions continued.

Useful links

• Registry website: https://www.nic.mu/
• IANA delegation record: https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/mu.html

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

domain:       MU

organisation: Internet Direct Ltd
address:      48 Remy Ollier Street
address:      Port Louis
address:      Mauritius

contact:      administrative
name:         Administrator
organisation: Internet Direct Ltd.
address:      48 Remy Ollier Street
address:      Port-Louis
address:      Mauritius
phone:        +230-216-8888
fax-no:       +230-216-6868
e-mail:       admin@nic.mu

contact:      technical
name:         Tech Administrator
organisation: Internet Direct Ltd
address:      48 Remy Ollier Street
address:      Port Louis
address:      Mauritius
phone:        +230 216-8888
fax-no:       +230 216-6868
e-mail:       tech@nic.mu

nserver:      V0N0.TLD.MU 199.254.59.33 2001:500:25:0:0:0:0:33
nserver:      V0N1.TLD.MU 199.254.60.33 2001:500:26:0:0:0:0:33
nserver:      V0N2.TLD.MU 199.254.61.33 2001:500:27:0:0:0:0:33
nserver:      V0N3.TLD.MU 199.254.62.33 2001:500:28:0:0:0:0:33
nserver:      V2N0.TLD.MU 199.249.116.33 2001:500:44:0:0:0:0:33
nserver:      V2N1.TLD.MU 199.249.124.33 2001:500:4c:0:0:0:0:33
ds-rdata:     46330 8 2 35d980186cac1554ef565ac20a1b774a480a111d63d594c5913e83d7f5e3867e

whois:        whois.tld.mu

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: http://www.nic.mu/

created:      1995-10-06
changed:      2025-02-26
source:       IANA