.xxx - ICANN approves porn domain

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved .xxx as a new domain suffix for websites dealing with "adult material of a sexual nature." ICANN appears to have given this a lot of thought.

From the ICANN site:

Research also showed that the use of these other strings could lead to consumer confusion about the sponsored community. For example, although information on family planning, birth control, or abortion would potentially qualify for inclusion in a proposed .sex or .adult TLD, such information would not intuitively be associated with a .xxx TLD. Likewise, the adoption of a .porn would place the registry operator and ICANN in the difficult position of making the determination of what is and is not pornography. The proposed .xxx string clearly and unequivocally conveys to the Internet user that the site contains adult material of a sexual nature.

According to reports, the .xxx domain registry is voluntary. As such, it will likely be most useful in attracting Internet users seeking "adult content" rather than as a guide for users hoping to avoid it.

ICANN estimates as many as 500,000 .xxx registrations within four years. This estimate seems insanely low, considering even the number of non-pornographic sites likely to adopt the .xxx suffix purely for the purposes of boosting traffic. Hmm...