country code
Originally, a two-letter abbreviation
for a particular country, generally used as a {top-level
domain}.
Originally, as the name implies, country codes were meant just
for countries; but over time, country codes were allocated for
many areas (mostly islands) that aren't countries -- such as
Antarctica (aq), Christmas Island (cx) and Saint Pierre et
Miquelon (pm).
Country codes are based on {ISO 3166} and are used as the top
level domain for {Internet} {hostnames} in most countries but
hardly ever in the USA (code "us").
{Latest list (ftp://info.ripe.net/iso3166-countrycodes)}.
(1999-01-26)