.CO, the domain for startups and entrepreneurs, today announced the public launch of an exclusive membership program, featuring high-value education, networking and promotional support designed to help .CO users to build and grow successful businesses. The free program, accessible at http://i.go.co, is the first of its kind within the top-level domain industry. Today’s beta program will be made available to the first 1,000 .CO users who sign up.

More than Just a Domain

Built from the ground up to support innovators and entrepreneurs, .CO has quickly become one of the fastest-growing global domain extensions in the world, with nearly 1.4 million URLs registered by people and businesses in more than 200 countries since it launched in 2010.

“While we’re definitely excited by our fast growth, we’re not here to build ‘just another domain extension,’” said Juan Diego Calle, founder and CEO of .CO. “We’re here to support the thriving community of innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, developers, investors, marketers and big dreamers who are building the world’s next great businesses and brands on .CO with the fuel they need to take action on their plans – and to succeed.”

Benefits for Customers of All Sizes

Anyone and everyone with a .CO domain name is eligible to become a member at i.go.co. Upon joining, members will gain immediate access to exclusive benefits in key areas that startups want and need most – including coveted tickets to premium educational programs, exclusive invitations to networking events, and a variety of promotional opportunities.

Some of the benefits that are currently available include:

• Free passes to Startup Weekend events worldwide;
• Free tickets to elite educational events like Eric Ries’ Lean Startup Conference and 500 Startups’ Warm Gun Conference;
• Free access to co-working spaces in key cities;
• Free SEO consultations; and
• Discounts on General Assembly courses, live and online.

All of the offers on i.go.co are intended to reinforce the power of the growing .CO community and to create opportunities for people to learn, grow, connect and exchange ideas – not just online – but in real life too. .CO will continue to expand the program by providing access to exclusive deals, discounts and perks designed to make the startup journey even more fun. Eventually this will also include the ability for members to offer the community benefits of their own.

The program will grow over the next few months, based on customer feedback, and will be fully launched by South by Southwest in March 2013.

“We recognize that .CO is a platform for people to create and bring their ideas to life,” said Lori Anne Wardi, Vice President of .CO. “What makes us different from other domains out there is that our greatest focus is not on getting people to buy .CO web addresses, but rather, helping them to succeed once they do.”

About .CO

In just over two years since its launch, the .CO domain has become one of the most successful top level domain extensions in history, with nearly 1.4 million web addresses registered by people and companies in over 200 countries. From start-ups and small businesses to big brands and multinational corporations, .CO is increasingly becoming the web address of choice for innovators and entrepreneurs the world over. For more information about .CO, please visit go.co or follow us on Twitter @dotCO.