Interlink Set to Open New Internet Domain ".moe" for Anime Lovers, Cosplayers and Hobbyists around World

Illust by Kazuharu Kina
Illust by Kazuharu Kina

Interlink Co., Ltd., a new Domain Registry Operator, announced on July 17 that it will open the Internet’s most unique Top Level Domain (TLD) 1, ".moe", to the public starting Tuesday June 17th.

The word "moe" (means a special affinity to fictional characters, people, animals, etc.; pronounced as "moh-ay") is rooted deep in the Japanese Otaku (geek) culture. ".moe" is a New Top Level Domain (TLD) designed to serve as a new online identity for Otaku’s, anime lovers, hobbyists, content creators, artists, and businesses in the anime, comics, and visual novels industries.

The public launch of ".moe" is broken down into two phases; the Landrush Phase, and General Availability. The Landrush phase is a short priority registration period, or early access period, in which users will have the best chance to secure their desired domain name. In the General Availability phase, domain names will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Both the Landrush Phase and General Availability are open to everyone with no restrictions.

Prior to launching to the public, Interlink has worked to create awareness of the TLD by working with relevant businesses. For example, Visual Novel publisher, Aquaplus, is now the proud owner of http://aquaplus.moe/ .

To date, Interlink has signed contracts with 28 ICANN Accredited Domain Registrars worldwide and expects this number to grow sharply throughout the Landrush phase. Users who wish to secure a ".moe" domain can find more information at http://nic.moe/en/ .

Launch Dates
Landrush Period: June 17, 2014 (15:00 UTC) - July 18, 2014 (15:00 UTC)
General Registration Period: July 22, 2014 (02:00 UTC)

^1^ A Top-Level Domain (TLD) is the right-most label of a domain name. For example, "example.org" belongs to the top-level domain of .org.

About Interlink Co., Ltd.
Interlink Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo based company founded in 1994. Interlink runs a successful ISP business and offers a wide range of services including Internet connectivity services, hosting services, and domain registration services. Interlink has been developing the .moe Top-Level Domain to become a top global namespace since 2012. Interlink executed a contract with ICANN, the governing authority of the Global DNS in November 2013 allowing it to operate the ".moe" TLD.

Source: Interlink Co., Ltd.

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