URLs

Most URLs include the name and type of organisation sponsoring the page. The type of organisation is identified by a three-letter code called a "top level domain name." Here are some of the most common domains you will find.

educational institution
Even though a page comes from an educational institution, it does not mean the institution endorses the views expressed there. Students or University staff may publish pages in their account on the School's computer.

commercial entity
Many companies advertise and sell products, as well as publish annual reports and other company information for their customers, stockholders and potential investors on the Web. Much of the quality information you can purchase such as online newspapers or journals have .com names.

federal, state and local government
Government agencies use the Web to publish legislation, census information, weather data, tax forms and many other documents.

non-profit organisation
Non-profit organisations use the Web to promote their causes. These pages are good sources to use when comparing different sides of an issue.

network provider
Network providers administer or provide connection services to the Internet. The .net group is an odd mix of companies, associations and Internet Service Providers. Information on these sites can look similar to sites from .com, .org, or even personal pages.

Recently the division between these top level domains became blurred. Sometimes non-profit organisations and educational institutions are now found under .com or .net. This makes it more difficult to determine the organisation that is publishing the page.

Recently many more top level domain names have been added such as:

.aero	Used for the air transport industry
.biz	General use by businesses
.coop	Restricted to Co-operatives
.info	Used for commercial and non- commercial organisations
.museum	For museums
.pro	Professional - restricted to professional groups

The origin of some international sites can be determined by country codes found in the URL.