What the hell is that “.tv” about?
The Pacific Islands nation of Tuvalu, population 10,600, for years had survived by selling stamps, fishing licenses and collecting foreign aid. Now, thanks to an alphabetic quirk, the country makes $50 million a year in royalties from the ability to sell Internet names and electronic mail addresses ending in Tuvalu’s country code, “.tv.” American company .TV Corporation, called DotTV, agreed to pay Tuvalu about three times the country’s gross domestic product over the next decade so it can sell electronic mail and Web addresses ending in “.tv” instead of the ubiquitous “.com.” For more info on Tuvalu read the article, Tuvalu and .tv.
