Definitions for "Generic Top Level Domain"
Keywords:  gtld, biz, aero, coop, museum
(network, Internet) The 2 or 3 letter extension used in domain names. For instance: .uk, .com, .net, .org... The ICANN (Internet for Addressing Names) is responsible for these gTLD. Due to the lack of available domain names for .com, .net and .org, the ICANN has recently released (november 2000) 7 new gTLD: .biz, .info, .pro, .museum, .aero, .name and .coop.
A top-level domain name that is open to registrants around the world in contrast to country code top-level domains that are often restricted to registrants located in a particular country or region. . gTLDs include .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and .name.
(gTLD) The last part of a type of domain name that is not associated with a specific ccTLD. There are 7 in common usage, (.com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, .mil, .int). Originally they signified the nature of the organization using it:- .com - commercial company, .org - organization, usually non-profit making, .net - companies and organizations involved with the infrastructure of the Internet, .edu - educational (usually US), .gov - governmental (usually US), .mil - military (usually US), .int - international company or organization, however the use of some, particularly .net and .org is no longer limited to a particular type of organisation. A further 6 gTLDs have more recently come into use. These are:- .aero - for the air transport industry, .biz - for businesses, .coop - for co-operative associations (not chickens), .info - not restricted to any particular type of organisation, .museum - for, unsurprisingly, museums, and .name - for individuals. As they are all independent of a particular country, they are also sometimes called global Top Level Domains. See also ccTLD, second level domain