Image via Wikipedia
As the Internet evolves, so do Internet codes. Internet country codes identifying the country in which the end user website exists continue to be refined and expanded to include cities, regional areas within a country. As these changes are implemented, the Internet world becomes more closely connected.
Internet country codes are managed revised under ISO 3166-1 by the ISO Maintenance Agency. A corresponding list implemented in 2010 by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). A unique country code has been assigned that is overseen by a trustee assigned by the ISO who is responsible for its local use. These internationalized country codes are top level domains (TLDs) and are designated as ccTLDs. In many cases the country is identified in native characters by the end user.. Some unused codes within a country are unused or reserved. Unused codes may be sold to users for commercial purposes, depending on the country’s laws.
The familiar and larger domains such as ,com, .net, .edu are designated as gTLDs and are the most commonly seen and used domains on the Internet. At the other end of the country code spectrum are the newer city codes. The city codes are two letter add-ons to the country code and are separated from the country code by a period in the URL. As the list of city and other municipal area codes grows, it will be possible to look at an URL and determine exactly where a website is located. Some organizations even have specific codes to identify them on the Internet.
The Internet is clearly becoming more sophisticated. As ISO 3166-1 expands and revises, the Internet matures and becomes more familiar.
