Porn lovers get .xxx domain

June 2005

The non-profit organisation responsible for internet addresses has approved dot-xxx domains, a move that reverses the group's earlier position and heads off a potential political spat with conservative US politicians.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) said it's working with the ICM Registry to finalise remaining details, meaning the porn-friendly set of dot-xxx domains should be available by the end of the year. Other top-level domains still awaiting a decision from Icann are dot-asia, dot-mail, and dot-tel.

Stuart Lawley, chairman of the ICM Registry, could not be immediately reached for comment. In an interview last year, Lawley said that dot-xxx domain names would cost around $75 and come with no restrictions except that any sexually explicit content feature only adults. "Apart from child pornography, which is completely illegal, we're really not in the content-monitoring business," Lawley said.

ICM Registry plans to handle the technical aspects of running the master database of dot-xxx sex sites. A second, non-profit organisation called the International Foundation For Online Responsibility will be in charge of setting the rules for dot-xxx. It's intended to have a seven-person board of directors, including a child advocacy advocate, a free-expression aficionado and someone from the adult entertainment industry.