China Domain '.cn' Now the World's Largest, Surpassing Germany's

China's country code domain ".cn" has now become the world's most commonly used, with more than 16.36 million users by the end of last year, surpassing Germany's ".de," according to data released on Friday, Jan. 8, by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the Xinhua News Agency reported.

CNNIC head Li Xiaodong said that the .cn domain is also world-leading in domain resolution service, security and the ratio of benign uses.

Li added that the .cn domain is able to protect users' interests and reduce online theft, phishing and fraud as the country began to require real-name registration in 2009.

According to CNNIC, the domain is widely used not only by Chinese institutions and companies, but also by overseas institutions and multinationals which include Apple Inc., Microsoft, Samsung and Amazon. The multinational companies reportedly own .cn domain names.

The report said that the domain name is used by all central and provincial governments in China and most telecom companies and commercial banks.

Investors and businesses who wanted to sell to Chinese consumers by having a local website need to buy a domain name, get Web hosting and register themselves in the country.

In China, businesses are required to file or register their websites with the Ministry of Industry and Information (MIIT), while those seeking to register a China country code top level domain (ccTLD) will have to work with a domain name registrar that is approved by CNNIC.

After a ".cn" domain application is submitted, the domain will be under "in-auditing" status and will be checked within five days. Registrants are required to submit a CN domain application form, a copy of the business license (registered in China), a copy of the signatory's national ID in which the signatory must be a Chinese citizen, and a valid PRC personal ID.

A ".cn" domain name costs less than a ".com" domain, at about 30 yuan ($5) per year, according to authorities.