Curaçao switches to .cw

February 09, 2012 6:38 AM

The new domain name of the country Curaçao .cw was launched officially yesterday. The government is the first authority to use this address.

The government’s site switched from the internet extension .an, can be reached via the link www.gobiernu.cw since yesterday. The intention is that various institutions on the island will use this new extension during the coming period.With the dismantlement of the Netherlands Antilles, the individual islands had to come up with an own domain name. After St. Maarten (.sx) and the BES-Islands (.bq), Curaçao was assigned .cw (Curaçao West Indies). This extension closely resembles that of Aruba (.aw) and was chosen after consultation with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and in cooperation with the University of Curaçao (UoC). The UoC is entrusted with monitoring the domain name .an for years and will continue to do so for .cw. All active websites currently using the .an-extension can now register and switch to the new domain name. ICANN has announced a transitional period until 2014.

The Curaçao government introduced the new domain name .cw yesterday in a symbolic manner on Nijlweg at the wall in Habaai. An extensive information campaign will soon be launched to inform the public of the new domain name. The government simultaneously launched their revised website. Numerous new services were added to the site. The site is currently available in the Dutch and Papiamentu language; but will also become available in the English language, as per the government’s intentions. The introduction of the new domain name also involved new e-mail addresses for everyone in government service.

7 February 2012