Internet domain ‘.xxx’ rejected

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 10, 2006

NEW YORK – Faced with opposition from conservative groups and some pornography Web sites, the Internet’s key oversight agency voted Wednesday to reject a proposal to create a red-light district on the Internet.

The decision from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers reverses its preliminary approval last June to create a “.xxx” domain name for voluntary use by the adult entertainment industry.

The company argued the domain would help the $12 billion online porn industry clean up its act. Those using the domain would have to abide by yet-to-be-written rules designed to bar such trickery as spamming and malicious scripts.

Anti-porn advocates, however, countered that sites would be free to keep their current “.com” address.