Overview
- .微博 is an internationalized generic top-level domain (IDN gTLD). The string 微博 (weibo) means "microblogging" in Chinese (Simplified).
- It was delegated to the DNS Root Zone as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program.
History
- Delegation: .微博 was delegated to the Root Zone on 6 April 2016 under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Applicants / operators mentioned in the application phase:
- Sina Corporation — listed as the current applicant/operator; priority value shown as 45 in the source.
- Tencent Holdings Limited — listed as a previous applicant (priority 98 struck through in the source).
- Both Sina and Tencent also applied for the ASCII version .weibo.
Usage and Audience
- Intended use: to serve microblogging communities and related services (individuals, organisations, celebrities, businesses and government accounts involved in microblogging).
- Operator intentions described in applications:
- Sina: use .微博 for Weibo-related services and initially retain control of registrations.
- Tencent: use .微博 to complement Tencent Weibo services and enable verified/public-interest name handling.
- Notable platforms tied to the string:
- Weibo.com (Sina): reported in the application materials as having over 300 million registered users and ~86 million daily posts (as of end-2011 / cited dates in the applications).
- Tencent Weibo: reported user counts around 310 million registered users with roughly 50 million daily active users (figures cited in Tencent's application materials).
Registration Rules
- Initial exclusivity (Sina): Sina's application states it planned to be the sole registrant for .微博 domains for the initial 3 years after launch, with regular evaluation and possible later phased roll-out to a broader marketplace.
- Eligible registrants (examples from Sina's application analysis):
- subsidiaries or branch companies
- official or frequently-used names of departments or business units
- channels, services, products, events, or campaigns
- board members, staff, affiliated persons, partners or collaborators
- other entities, sub-groups, or personnel to be further defined
- Tencent's registration approach (from its application):
- intend to reserve names of public influence or serious nature (celebrities, politicians, geographic names, government structures, well-known companies).
- use a verification process for those public-interest names; verified names would be clearly labeled.
- require authorization/licensing for registrations under .微博 and review use of reserved names to protect public interest considerations.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Brand protection and trust were explicit goals in the applicants' plans:
- Sina described a defensive, conservative rollout to protect trademarks and minimize operational risks while evaluating long-term strategy.
- Tencent emphasized building consumer trust, reserving high-profile names, and using verification and labeling to ensure accurate representation of public figures and organizations.
- Both applicants framed .微博 as a means to strengthen microblogging brands and unify name structures for better user services.
Notable Cases or Examples
- Weibo.com (Sina): cited as a major global and Chinese website (application materials cite top-20/30 web rankings and substantial user metrics in the 2011–2012 timeframe).
- Tencent Weibo: cited in applications with large registered-user counts and significant daily active user figures; Tencent described reserving and verifying public-interest domains under .微博.
Operator
Sina Corporation
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: 微博
domain-ace: XN--9KRT00A
organisation: Sina Corporation
address: 20F Ideal Haza No. 59 Bei Si Huan Xi Road
address: Haidian District
address: Beijing 100080
address: China
contact: administrative
name: Director, Legal Dept.
organisation: Sina Corporation
address: 20F Ideal Haza No. 59 Bei Si Huan Xi Road
address: Haidian District
address: Beijing 100080
address: China
phone: +86-10-82628888
fax-no: +86-10-82607527
e-mail: register@staff.sina.com.cn
contact: technical
name: Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Afilias
address: 300 Welsh Road
address: Building 3, Suite 105
address: Horsham PA 19044
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 215.706.5700
fax-no: +1 215.706.5701
e-mail: tld-tech-poc@afilias.info
nserver: A0.NIC.XN--9KRT00A 2a01:8840:6e:0:0:0:0:1 65.22.112.1
nserver: A2.NIC.XN--9KRT00A 2a01:8840:71:0:0:0:0:1 65.22.115.1
nserver: B0.NIC.XN--9KRT00A 2a01:8840:6f:0:0:0:0:1 65.22.113.1
nserver: C0.NIC.XN--9KRT00A 2a01:8840:70:0:0:0:0:1 65.22.114.1
ds-rdata: 6052 8 2 e5aea197b5fb7f042833684bbf64fd1f9341baa2007b2db2958c9dfaa5884b78
whois: whois.nic.xn--9krt00a
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.sina.com
created: 2016-02-29
changed: 2023-08-08
source: IANA
