The .xxx domain for adult-content websites was approved for use today, overcoming opposition from porn stars and publisher Hustler, which said the move will curb their freedom.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the group that manages Web addresses worldwide, gave the green light to the .xxx domain at a meeting in San Francisco. While the address isnt mandated for adult content, a flurry of sites are expected to register their brands to prevent them from being stolen.
ICM Registry proposed the .xxx change and plans to sell addresses to website owners. Chief Executive Officer Stuart Lawley said tens of thousands have already applied to reserve more than 200,000 domain names. He hired London-based advertising firm M&C Saatchi to start a campaign for it.
For the first time, there will be a clearly defined Web address for adult entertainment, out of the reach of minors and as free as possible from fraud or malicious computer viruses, Lawley said in a statement.
Porn stars and companies including Vivid Entertainment LLC -- the company behind sex tapes of Paris Hilton and reality TV stars Kendra Wilkinson and Kim Kardashian -- have said .xxx would create an online ghetto, making it easier to censor. Lawley said the domain would give parents more control and allow Internet users to filter unwanted material.
The Free Speech Coalition, an adult-industry trade association with more than 1,000 members, held a news conference this week to argue against .xxxs approval, saying ICM is only looking to make money and the domain threatens the industrys independence.
Lawley had said Jupiter, Florida-based ICM could earn $200 million a year from .xxx and hes planning a PayPal for porn online system that could handle $1 billion a year in transactions.
