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As one of the original top-level domains, .ORG, The Public Interest Registry (PIR) today congratulates The MITRE Corporation for being the first registrant 25 years ago with the .ORG domain. Purchased on July 10, 1985, MITRE.org jumpstarted over 8 million subsequent registrations by becoming the very first .ORG domain holder. In the decades since joining .ORG, MITRE—a not-for-profit organization that provides systems engineering and information technology support to the government—has utilized MITRE.org as its organization's homepage sharing MITRE's latest news, projects, and mission areas.

"Twenty-five years ago the Internet revolution began with the introduction of domain addresses such as .ORG along with .COM and .NET," said Alexa Raad, chief executive officer of .ORG, The Public Interest Registry. "No one could predict how essential the Internet would become to our everyday lives. However, the MITRE Corporation was among the very first to see the potential. We thank MITRE for consistently choosing .ORG over the past two decades, and for paving the path for millions of organizations, individuals and corporations worldwide."

MITRE was chartered in 1958 to support the U.S. Air Force in developing the Semi-Automated Ground Environment, the first continental air defense system. Since then the not-for-profit has continued to take on new challenges for new customers. Today, the company operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security.

"In retrospect, we believe that being part of the .ORG domain has done much to reinforce MITRE's identity as an organization chartered to work in the public interest," said Al Grasso, President and CEO of The MITRE Corporation. "And we take some pride that a small part of that work involved pioneering standards for the Internet, which has done so much to change and define our world in its first 25 years."

The .ORG domain was first established in early 1985 with MITRE's registration marking the first official registration that July. Since its inception, the domain has secured over 8 million registrations with a growth of 8.4 percent in 2009, cementing the domain's position as the world's third largest generic top-level domain (gTLD). For more information about .ORG's history and growth, please visit www.pir.org.

About The MITRE Corporation

The MITRE Corporation (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit organization that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security, with principal locations in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va.

About PIR

Trusted across all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, .ORG is where people turn to find credible information, get involved, fund causes and support advocacy. .ORG, The Public Interest Registry empowers the global noncommercial community to use the Internet more effectively and, concurrently, takes a leadership position among Internet stakeholders on policy and related issues on behalf of the .ORG Community. (Learn More)

Related topics: Domain Names, Domain Registries, Top-Level Domains