Where in the world are those link shorteners taking you?

Many countries' letter extensions are used by link shorteners for services such as Google. But which ones are where?After the controversy over Libya shutting down vb.ly, we look at other countries that are used for conveniently short links.GREENLAND (.gl)The world's largest island but home to just 57,000 people, Greenland's internet domain is rarely used - but recently sprung to prominence when Google launched its own address shortening service, goo.glMONTENEGRO (.me)An explosion of interest in web addresses belonging this Balkan state came when .me was launched in 2007 - with names like insure.me and date.me selling for tens of thousands of pounds. Facebook now uses fb.me for its own URL shortening serviceNIUE (.nu)Using a play on words to present itself as a "new" alternative to traditional addresses like .com and .net, this tiny Polynesian state set the first real trend for domain hacking in the late 1990s TUVALU (.tv)The Pacific island nation - population around 12,000 - started cashing in on the popularity of its web address a decade ago, leasing the right to sell .tv domains for $50m in royaltiesMICRONESIA (.fm)Aping the conventions of the radio industry, Micronesia's address found a niche for music websites and audio streaming services, including Last.fm and Ping.fmLIBYA (.ly)With so many domains already registered, a rash of companies have spotted their chance to make more palatable phrases using Libyan domains, including bit.ly, ow.ly, good.ly and othersTONGA (.to) and ITALY (.it)These pairs of letters are used by thousands of domain hackers to form brief, imperative statements that are - hopefully - more memorable for web users (go.to and play.it, for example)GRENADA (.gd)The Caribbean island's extension is used by another URL shortener, is.gd, in the disemvowelled shorthand common among many Web 2.0 startupsInternetCensorshipBobbie Johnsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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