I was unaware until I read this article that until very recently, Iraq didn’t have its own country extension for the Internet.
According to the article:

In a sign of progress for the government, Iraq has secured the suffix “.iq” for its new Internet addresses. The government is in the process of creating e-mails and websites using the country’s suffix abbreviation. The initials will be attached to Internet addresses, indicating they originate in Iraq.
Establishing the .iq extension is considered “a big and important event for the Iraqi nation,” says Siyamend Othman, executive director of the Iraqi National Communication and Media Commission. It “represents in the Internet world the state flag,” he says.

Call me naive, but I had assumed that ICANN had automatically worked out and assigned country extensions to all countries, and that using them was a matter of residing in that country. Obviously not. Anyone with more knowledge out there want to enlighten me?
In any event, as the rest of the story suggests, it’s an important step in socialising Iraqis into the global community.