Few people think of an Internet domain name like .us or .in as anything other than an address--when, in fact, it often serves as a roadmap to national identities and priorities. Addressing the World looks behind eleven of the 240 global domain names, from the United States and Australia to Moldova and East Timor. Stories and first-person accounts by activists, journalists, Internet administrators, lawyers, and academics examine the sociological, historical, political, and technological development of Internet country code top-level domains (ccTLDs).

Introduction - lots of dots, Eric Schlesinger Wass; the neverending ccTLD story, Peter K. Yu; East Timor's .TP - from a virtual initiative to a political reality, Martin Maguire; Chile's.CL - a virtual home for Chileans worldwide, Patricio Poblete; India's .IN - underused and under appreciated, Tushar A. Gandhi; Malaysia's .MY - globalization and domain identification among Malaysian students, Toby E. Huff; Sweden's .SE - re-establishing itself as the best choice for all Swedes, Patrik Linden; Niue's .NU - providing a free Internet to an isolated nation, Richard StClair; Moldova's .MD - the little domain that roared, Dana M. Gallup; China's .CN - reaching every corner of the world, Erica Schlesinger Wass; Swaziland's .SZ - virtual symbols of Swaziland's national aspirations and character, Paiki Muswazi; the United States' .US - striving for the American dream, Erica Schlesinger Wass; Australia's .AU - Australia's second gold rush, Jenny Sinclair; conclusion - only time will tell, Erica Schlesinger Wass.

This book offers a fresh and insightful perspective on the Internet and its implications for life in the global village. Taking an international perspective, the chapters provide a combination of original research and theory to explain the nature and impact of the Internet on diverse populations around the world. I recommend this book as a must-read for those interested in either the Internet or its global consequences.--Pavlik, John