ICANN gives thumbs up to .xxx

Porn industry to get triple-X top-level domain

Porn industry finally gets .xxx

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced official approval for the .xxx top-level domain (TLD) for the porn industry at its 38th meeting currently under way in Brussels.

The .xxx TLD was initially approved in 2005, but was stopped following protests from conservative groups.

The company behind the .xxx TLD, ICM Registry, posted a statement from its chairman Stuart Lawley on its web site saying: "it’s been a long time coming, but I’m excited about the fact that .xxx will soon become a reality."

It is believed that the .xxx TLD will make it easier to separate and police content from other web sites. However, some say that the domain would make it easier for children to access online pornography.

ICANN has responsibility for domain name assignment and IP address assignment as well as managing the internet's critical root server system.

It also plans to make generic TLDs available for commercial firms, a move which could threaten the dominance of the .com and .net extensions.