The domain name .CO has won a place in the World Finance 100 listing, alongside major brands such as Facebook and Google.
Launched by Colombian company .CO Internet S.A.S in July 2010, more than one million websites in 200 countries around the world are now using the domain name.
Major internet brands including Google, Twitter and Amazon are all now using .CO in for their Colombian sites.
Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet S.A.S said, ”We couldn’t be more pleased to be recognized as a leader in our field. Inclusion in this list of venerable industry heavyweights further validates our mission to help fellow entrepreneurs to build and grow great businesses online.”
Calle raised $5 million to set up the Miami-based .CO Internet company and won the government contract to operate the .CO domain in 2010.
It quickly proved highly popular to companies wanting shorter internet addresses or small companies unable to buy their preferred .com names.
Its recognition as a pseudonym for ”company”, ”corporation” and ”commercel” also added to its success.
The list recognizes top performing businesses around the world, selected by the editorial board of leading industry magazine World Finance.
Other members of the list include Microsoft, Apple, HSBC and Christian Dior.
World Finance Editor Alexander Redcliffe said, ”The 2011 list displays the very best performers from a variety of industries and covers a great spectrum of global markets over the past twelve months.
“This year the competition for places was extraordinarily high, so I’m pleased to present this, the list of who we identified to be the top performers of 2011”