Sex Domain .xxx Given Final Ok

Adult web sites will be assigned a .xxx suffix after the international Internet regulating body approved the plan. File photo

A plan to create an internet domain specifically for "adult" web sites has been given final approval by regulators.

The move to create a top level ".xxx" domain - similar to ".com" and ".org" - ends a 10-year battle over the virtual red-light district.

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, gave initial approval of an internet domain dedicated to pornography last year, but carried out further consultation checks over the application.

"The ICANN community has engaged in extensive debate as well, with this single issue generating higher volumes of community comment than nearly any other issue ever faced within ICANN," ICANN said in a draft paper ahead of approving the decision.

The organisation oversees the internet's addressing system and demands that new top level domains, such as .biz, must be "sponsored" in that they must serve the needs of a defined community.

The scheme is intended to isolate and easily identify adult sites, so that computer users can quickly filter out such material, if they wish.

There had been more than 110,000 pre-reservations for .xxx domains only for last year, data shows.

The planned domain, .xxx , had originally been approved in 2005, but was later withdrawn after US conservative groups had objected on "moral grounds".

An independent review concluded in 2010 that the withdrawal was unfair, and should be reconsidered. Their ruling stated it was "not consistent with the application of neutral, objective and fair documented policy".

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