.eu already tops 2.5 million

Just over a year ago the .eu top level domain name was launched, and according to the European Commission more than 2.5 million .eu names have already been registered, making it the 7th most popular TLD.

Many worldwide brands - from companies like Air France and Versace to environmental campaigners Greenpeace - now have a ".eu" address, officials said, singling out non-European brands Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus for also choosing an ".eu" address in ad campaigns.

"After just one year `.eu' has become a well-established part of Europe's cyberspace," EU Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said.

Most registrations came from Germany, which accounted for nearly a third of all applications. Britain took the second spot and was followed by the Netherlands.