Is it "el" or "los" EE UU?

Question

Does "el" or "los" precede "EEUU"? It seems that it should be "los" since 'EEUU' stands for 'Estados Unidos', but then again, 'el' sounds a lot better.

Also, in conversation to you say "E-E-U-U" or do you say "E-U" or just "Estados Unidos"?

Thanks!

Why can't I write EEUU in the title without separating it into EE and UU? - MeEncantanCarasSonrisas, Jul 7, 2010

EE. UU. No space after the 1st period except to fool this **** editor. - 0074b507, Jul 7, 2010

Answer 1

In Spain, the normal is "Estados Unidos" and "los" precede "EEUU".

Same in Argentina :) - Benz, Jul 7, 2010

Answer 2

"Estados Unidos" is, of course, plural and, as such, takes a the plural form of the definite article. We have a (somewhat intrusive and not very sophisticated) filter which attempts to prevent "shouting" (the internet convention being that when one writes entirely in upper-case, one is "shouting"). The filter is badly written and unable to distinguish between "words written in upper-case" and [standard] abbreviations. It is unlikely that the filter will ever be fixed.