There was some confusion last month when a Colombia-based reporter wrote an article that stated the .CO Registry had hit 1 million registrations in less than a year. That news was quickly refuted by the Registry, although rumors that they were close persisted.  The Registry hadn’t provided an update since it hit 600,000 registrations.

I personally believed that they would hit 1 million registrations before this summer, and I even bet Rob Sequin this would happen, with proceeds of our bet going to charity. It looks like I was right.

This morning, the .CO Registry announced that it has officially reached 1 million registered domain names registered. This is very positive news for the Registry and its registrants, especially with aftermarket sales seeming to pick up of late (according to Sedo). It has been undeniably a great year for the .CO Registry.

My congratulations go out to the .CO Registry team and its marketing team at the Pappas Group.

Press Release:

.CO Internet S.A.S. (www.Opportunity.CO), the official registry operator for the .CO domain, announced today that it has reached the landmark one millionth .CO domain name registration. Less than one year from the global launch of .CO in July of 2010, individuals, organizations and businesses in more than 200 countries have registered .CO web addresses.

“Entrepreneurs and innovative businesses around the globe are adopting .CO web addresses at an unprecedented pace, way beyond my initial expectations,” said Juan Diego Calle, CEO of .CO Internet. “To hit this milestone in less than a year is a great testament to the hard work and dedication of our team – and especially to the foresight of all of those who believed in .CO from the very beginning. From our retail and business partners; to the trademark and domain communities; to all the people, businesses and brands who are building their futures on .CO – we owe you a million thanks!”

To celebrate the innovators, entrepreneurs and trailblazers who are turning their biggest hopes, dreams, and aspirations into realities on the .CO domain, .CO Internet has commissioned a series of short films called “Under the Bulb,” which will premier live at a private event to be held on June 9th during Internet Week in New York City. Under the Bulb tells the stories of the people behind the growth of .CO. Each inspiring two-minute film captures life from the time the big “light-bulb moment” first strikes – through the time their ideas are brought to life.

“From startup to Super Bowl in seven months flat, we are a company of entrepreneurs,” said Lori Anne Wardi, Director of Global Communications of the .CO Registry. “Under the Bulb is our way of honoring the fact that behind each of these one million domain registrations, are one million singular ideas with the potential to change the world.” You can get an early preview of Under the Bulb right now at www.UnderTheBulb.CO.

.CO is the fastest growing new global domain name in modern history. “Huge, global brands, like Twitter, Amazon and Overstock, who are early adopters in leveraging the .CO platform, are helping to bring massive mainstream awareness and adoption to .CO,” says Naval Ravikant, Founder of Angel List, the world’s leading website where angel investors scout for promising startup investments, located at www.Angel.CO.

The move by Overstock.com, in particular, to boldly rebrand the company internationally as O.CO, and to feature O.CO prominently in all of its key television ads, continues to generate incredible global interest and demand for .CO domain names. Overstock Company President, Jonathan Johnson, has advised that we should “look for another big O.CO announcement to be made on Monday, June 6th.”

With registrations spread across every continent, customer penetration is currently greatest in North America (which accounts for approximately 50% of .CO domain registrations), and throughout Europe, (which accounts for approximately 25% of registrations). With over 2 billion Internet users around the world, and an increasing demand for short, memorable, globally credible, domain names – the .CO Registry expects the rapid growth curve for .CO to continue over the next three to five years, with the greatest opportunities for expansion being found in the key developing regions of Asia and Latin America.

Interestingly, the one millionth domain name was registered at GoDaddy.com, which is the largest retailer of .CO domain names globally.