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.ORG, The Public Interest Registry (PIR) — manager of the world's third largest generic top-level domain (gTLD) — today released the results of its bi-annual domain name report, "The Dashboard," detailing the robust growth of .ORG during the second half of 2011. Overall, .ORG registrations grew by 9.9 percent in 2011, reaching 9.6 million total domains under management (DUM) by the end of 2011 — a net gain of 411,002 for the second half of the year.

"The Dashboard" also revealed that:

• The renewal rate of existing .ORG websites for the second half of 2011 was 75.4 percent.

• .ORG has maintained consistent growth between nine and 10 percent annually for the past three years.

• ORG DUM rose from 3.9 million in 2005 to 9.6 million in 2011 — an increase of 146 percent in seven years.

• North America and Europe continue to represent the regions with the most .ORG registrations, with Australia, China and Japan also making the top 10 country list for the second half of 2011.

"With Internet usage continuing to surge worldwide, and individuals and organizations alike placing even greater importance on doing good and promoting their passions online, it's no surprise that .ORG continued to see consistent and substantial growth during the second half of 2011," said Brian Cute, CEO of The Public Interest Registry. "We look forward to maintaining this consistent growth, as well as expanding globally in 2012."

Also highlighted in "The Dashboard" for the second half of 2011 is PIR's announcement of its intention to pursue the new domain extension, .NGO. This initiative is a major opportunity for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a community that depends on those three letters to set itself apart from commercial or governmental bodies. PIR believes that NGOs worldwide would benefit from .NGO as an exclusive signature online where they can effectively differentiate themselves and advance their missions. As part of this initiative, PIR intends to make the latest online innovations accessible to NGOs in both developed and developing countries.

In addition, "The Dashboard" underlines PIR's continued commitment to pioneer and advocate for advanced security standards for the Internet and for finding collaborative solutions to such hot-button issues as copyright infringement and online piracy while still promoting an open, global and unfettered Internet.

For more information on "The Dashboard" or to download a copy, visit http://pir.org/news.

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, Registry Services, Top-Level Domains