Top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of a web address, following the final. It is generally used to illustrate the purpose or geographic location of a website. The top-level domain “.xn—kprw13d” is a Punycode representation of a domain in the Unicode format. Punycode is a method used to represent Unicode with the limited characters set (A to Z, 0 to 9) as used in ASCII, which is considered the default set of characters used on the internet.
The TDL “.xn—kprw13d” decodes to “.台湾”, which is Chinese for “Taiwan”. This top-level domain is categorized under Internationalized Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD), intended for use by the associated countries or territories. This allows people around the globe to access URLs in their native language scripts. In this case, the .台湾 domain is dedicated to serving the region of Taiwan, but now with a TLD that is written in the traditional Chinese script used there.
However, .台湾 or “.xn—kprw13d” is one of many ccTLDs facilitating web addresses in languages that use non-Latin-based scripts, supporting users worldwide in using the internet in their native languages. Similarly, Russia, for example, uses “.рф” or in Punycode “.xn—p1ai”, India uses “.भारत” or “.xn—h2brj9c”, and Saudi Arabia uses”.السعودية” or “.xn—mgberp4a5d4ar”. These are all examples of the way the domain name system has internationalized to accommodate various languages and scripts.
The allocation and control of these ccTLDs are overseen by the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority), who are responsible for the global coordination of the DNS Root, IP addressing, and other internet protocol resources. IANA delegates the management of a ccTLD like .台湾 or .xn—kprw13d to a designated manager, which is usually the local, respective government or organization.
On the other hand, using these domains does come with challenges. One particular challenge it presents is the possibility of phishing attacks using similar-looking letter characters making it hard for an average user to recognize the incorrect URL
In conclusion, “.xn—kprw13d” is a top-level domain representing the traditional Chinese name of Taiwan “.台湾”. Through the use of Punycode, it makes it possible to register and use domain names in different scripts worldwide.
References:
- IANA.ORG. “Root Zone Database”. Retrieved from: https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db
- W3.ORG. “An Introduction to Multilingual Web Addresses”. Retrieved from: https://www.w3.org/International/articles/idn-and-iri/
- Verisign.INC.“ Internationalized Domain Names(IDNs)” Retrieved from: https://www.verisign.com/en\_US/domain-names/idn/idn-policy/index.xhtml
- Symantec.Enterprise. “Internationalized Domain Names: Easy Phishing While the World Waits” Retrieved from: https://community.broadcom.com/symantecenterprise/communities/community-home/librarydocuments/viewdocument?DocumentKey=5cddacf3-d4e3-4b4a-bcd3-7b26950f5c93&CommunityKey=1ecf5f55-9545-44d6-b0f4-4e4a7f5f5e68&tab=librarydocuments
