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What is the URL?  
   

  
URL:  The address of a web page on the World Wide Web.  Just as you have an address indicating where you reside or live, so does a website.
EX:  http://www.whitehouse.gov
   
Dissecting the URL:
  • http://  stands for hypertext transfer protocol.  The protocol (utilizing TCP)  transfers hypertext requests and information between servers and browsers
  • www means it world wide web
  • whitehouse.gov stands for the domain name

Dot What?  The .extension, in this case .gov,  indicated the time of organization sponsoring the site.  Here are some of the most common domains

.edu educational institution
 Even though a page comes from an educational institution, it does not mean the institution endorses the views expressed there. Students or faculty members may publish pages in their account on the school's computer.  This extension is for higher education institutions, i.e. colleges and universities.
.gov federal government
Government agencies use the Web to publish legislation, census information, weather data, tax forms and many other documents.
.com commercial entity
Many companies advertise and sell products, as well as publish annual reports and other company information for their customers, stockholders and potential investors on the Web. Much of the quality information you can purchase such as online newspapers or journals have .com names.
.org non-profit organization
Non-profit organizations use the Web to promote their causes. These pages are good sources to use when comparing different sides of an issue.
.net network provider
Network providers administer or provide connection services to the Internet. The .net group is an odd mix of companies, associations and Internet Service Providers. Information on these sites can look similar to sites from .com, .org, or even personal pages.
   

 
Therefore, http://www.whitehouse.gov is a government website on the world wide web probably about the Whitehouse.
 
International URLs
Sometimes there is a two letter country code at the end of the URL instead of the three letter organization code. Most URLs in the United States do not use the .us country code. Some other country codes are:
  
.au - Australia .ch - Switzerland .mx - Mexico
.be - Belgium .de - Germany .nz - New Zealand
.ca - Canada .jp - Japan .uk - United kingdom

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