Asia
| Area | |
|---|---|
| Population | 3,902,404,193 (1st) |
| Density | 89.07/km² (230.7)/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Asian |
| No. of Contries | 37 |
| Countries | |
| Dependencies | |
| Unrecognized Republics & Regions | |
| Languages | |
| Time Zones | |
| Internet TLD | .asia, many others |
| Largest Cities | |
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area (or 29.4% of its land area) and, with almost 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population. Chiefly in the eastern and northern hemispheres, Asia is traditionally defined as part of the landmass of Eurasia – with the western portion of the latter occupied by Europe – lying east of the Suez Canal, east of the Ural Mountains, and south of the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas. It is bounded to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the Indian Ocean, and to the north by the Arctic Ocean. Russia is considered a transcontinental country, as are Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and others, all of which include territories in Asia and in Europe. Given its size and diversity, Asia – a toponym dating back to classical antiquity – is more a cultural concept incorporating a number of regions and peoples than a homogeneous physical entity "and_Technology_Encyclopedia" target="_blank">Asia". McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. 2006. New York: McGraw-Hill Inc. (see Subregions of Asia, _Asian people).
.asia is a generic top-level domain sponsored by the DotAsia Organization, with the back-end registry operated by Afilias. It was approved by ICANN on 19 October, 2006 as a sponsored TLD. It will serve as a regional domain for companies, organisations, and individuals based in the region of Asia, Australia, and the Pacific.
The existent ccTLD of .as is reserved for American Samoa, although it admits foreign sites.
The sunrise period for .asia began on 9 October 2007, and ended on 31 January 2008.
Currently, from 20 February 2008 to 12 March 2008, .asia is in the "Landrush" state. Anyone meeting the .asia registration requirements may apply for any available .asia domain name. Domain names that receive more than one request will be auctioned between the requesting applicants after Landrush closes.
It is expected that .asia will go fully live, on a "first come first served" basis, on 26 March 2008.
