THREE years ago this month Scotland gained a new home on the internet with the introduction of the .scot domain.

Businesses, arts and cultural and individuals were able to show their Scottish connections, including The National (thenational.scot) and the Scottish Government (gov.scot), whose example was followed by Wales with gov.wales.

Scotland now has established a global community of companies and organisations that have chosen to use .scot to show their Scottish identity, including NHS Scotland, Scottish Food and Drink, Historic Environment Scotland and the Scottish Parliament.

Although the domain name has only been around for three years, the idea has a considerably longer history, going back to the earliest days of the worldwide web.

It was in 2005 that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) said it would consider alternative to the United Nations-listed countries that could get a country suffix. However, it was a further seven years before the DotScot Registry (www.dot.scot) – a not-for-profit company – started to make its pitch.

Digital media executive Chiara Bullen, told The National: “The process began with a campaign to pitch the idea of providing Scotland and the wider Scots diaspora the opportunity to showcase their Scottish heritage online.

“Needless to say the potential of .scot was recognised, and when applications for ICANN eventually opened in 2012 the idea was put into motion.

“Then, after rallying support from the worldwide Scots community and influential Scottish bodies, .scot was ready to launch.

“It was a long process but it certainly proved to be a rewarding one, as .scot quickly became one of the world’s most successful community domain names with registrations appearing in 43 countries.”

The domain has proven popular with Scottish businesses since its launch in 2014.

Research has shown that more than 70 per cent of consumers say they would prefer to buy from websites with a .scot address.

Bullen added: “The domain allows businesses to build strong cultural and economic links through their websites, provide a unique selling point and raise awareness of Scottish culture, heritage, tourism and products – it’s an incredibly versatile product that has found its place within many industries and sends a clear message to customers about the origins of products and services.”

Landscape artist Cath Waters (www.cathwaters.scot) said it helped her sales overseas. “As a Scottish landscape artist, the .scot domain made sense to me as it represents my Scotland focused business more than a generic .co.uk domain would,” she said.“I originally registered a .co.uk domain name but I wanted my customers to know that they are dealing with a Scottish company, based here in Scotland, so a changed it to .scot a few years ago.

“I sell to lots of overseas visitors who have a love for all things Scottish and they think the .scot domain name is great.”

Also among the almost 12,000 domains registered to date is furniture maker Ogilvies of Haddington (www.ogilvies.scot).

“Heavy, low-quality goods and materials are being transported across thousands of miles only to be disposed of in landfill in a few years, when both the raw materials and the skills to make high-quality and long lasting furniture are available right here in Scotland,” said Ewan Ogilvie, who founded the firm in 2013.

“Having a .scot domain identifies us as Scottish and helps to emphasise that we still have a Scottish furniture-making industry… and it makes me feel good too.”

DotScot Registry is to release a new range of products to allow users to further showcase their identity, to be revealed soon. To start the switching process, the DotScot Registry website (www.dot.scot) has a list of registrars who can provide the domain.