.ORG, The Public Interest Registry today released the results of its bi-annual domain name report, "The Dashboard," detailing the continued strong growth of the world's third largest generic top-level domain (gTLD). According to the report, .ORG grew by 10.1 percent compared to a year ago, and 4 percent in the first six months of 2011. The increase propelled .ORG's total domains under management (DUM) to surpass the 9 million registrations mark in March 2011.

Other key findings from the "Dashboard" reveal the following:
.ORG reached 9.2 million registrations by the end of June, which indicated a net gain of over 350,000 registrations for the first half of 2011.
.ORG experienced a 4 percent rate of growth in the first half of 2011.

During the first half of 2011, new .ORG registrations increased by 14.6 percent while the average blended rate of renewal (the average of one, two and three or more years) was 75.8 percent.
The U.S. and European Union (EU) continue to represent the regions with the most significant .ORG registrations, with Italy and Japan entering the top 10 list of markets for the first half of 2011.

"Yet again, we're seeing significant growth of the .ORG domain as web users worldwide continue to see the value in using a trusted, secure domain to educate, mobilize and empower their communities," said Brian Cute, CEO of .ORG, The Public Interest Registry. "By June 2011, the .ORG domain reached 9.2 million domains under management, a monumental figure compared to the 3.9 million in 2005. These numbers are clear indicators that .ORG is well-positioned to take advantage of the Internet growth that we continue to see occur."

.ORG's significant growth this year was also underscored by a study, commissioned by PIR, on the health and status of traditional websites versus corporate social media. The study indicated that 81 percent of web surfers still chose an organization's website – over Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn – as the most trustworthy place to find information. Moreover, almost half of all respondents – 47 percent – would choose .ORG over other domain extensions to post information on a cause they are passionate about. And during a time of crisis, 39 percent of Americans turn to a .ORG website for information first.
For more information on "The Dashboard" or to download a copy, go to http://pir.org/news/dashboard.
About .ORG, The Public Interest Registry

Trusted across all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, .ORG is where people turn to find credible information, get involved, fund causes and support advocacy. .ORG, The Public Interest Registry empowers the global noncommercial community to use the Internet more effectively and, concurrently, takes a leadership position among Internet stakeholders on policy and related issues. The .ORG domain is the Internet's third largest "generic" or non-country specific top-level domain with more than 9 million domain names registered worldwide. .ORG, The Public Interest Registry, was founded by the Internet Society in 2002. It is based in Reston, Virginia, USA.

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