The company claims that the demand for .ME reflects the public's interest in having a personal connection with the Web.

The .ME Registry today announced that more than 100,000 domain names have been registered. This milestone comes a little more than two weeks after opening for live, real-time registrations by the general public and less than four months after opening its doors.

The company says that the registration process for .ME began in May with the Sunrise period for trademark holders. Land Rush for the general public to register names began in June. It avers that in total more than 30,000 applications were received in the Sunrise and Land Rush periods.

It also articulates that more than 100 registrars currently offer .ME domains through their registration platform. .ME has seen its greatest interest among English speaking countries including the United States (71%), the United Kingdom (6%), Canada (4%), and Australia (2%). More than a thousand auctions are currently open for popular .ME domains, with the highest bid over $32,000.

"We believe the huge demand for .ME reflects the public's interest in having a personal connection with the Web," said Predrag Lesic, the registry's executive director. "From interesting topics, to organization names, to brands, .ME sites give personality to the content on the Web sites associated with them."

"The number of individuals participating in .ME auctions, combined with the high values of the sales indicates brand owners and investors clearly understand the domain's potential," added Lesic. "We are pleased by this success since proceeds from the auctions go to further Internet development in Montenegro."