.li is the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

country code Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science ...

top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the ...

(

ccTLD A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

) for

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are t ...

. The .li TLD was created in 1993. The domain is sponsored and administered by the University of Liechtenstein in

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

. Registration of .li domain names used to be managed by

SWITCH In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common typ ...

, administrator of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel, St. Gall ...

's .ch ccTLD. In February 2013, SWITCH discontinued its .li registration service for private customers, delegating it to a number of recognized partner firms. There are no requirements to apply for the extension. Registrations of

internationalized domain name An internationalized domain name (IDN) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It ...

s have been accepted since March 2004.IDN - Domain Names with Accents and Umlauts
/ref> Domain names under 3 characters are reserved for the state and its institutions.

Domain hacks and vanity usage

Many

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

organizations and companies have adopted the .li TLD as a

domain hack A domain hack is a domain name A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer netwo ...

. As ''-li'' is a diminutive ending in Swiss German (

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...

''-lein''), many Swiss companies register an additional, or alternative, .li domain for their businesses and services. In Russian, ''-li'' is a verbal ending of past tense plural form. That is why some Russian-oriented sites use it as a part of the site name with the verbal stem before the dot. Li is also a Romanization of the second most common Chinese surname. Some people with this last name register .li domains for personal use.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:LI Country code top-level domains Telecommunications in Liechtenstein Council of European National Top Level Domain Registries members sv:Toppdomän#L