London:
Pornography-only suffix - .xxx - is now part of the Domain Name System (DNS) and the first addresses like porn.xxx, sex.xxx and xxx.xxx are being used to promote its sale, it was reported here.
Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday that following approval from ICANN, a US quango, the pornography-only suffix has been added to DNS, which have .com, .gov, .net and .uk, among others.
The pornography-only suffix was proposed in 2000 and approved five years later by ICANN. It was, however, blocked by the then Bush administration as the US government holds sway over ICANN.
The media report said that the firm behind .xxx, ICM Registry, sued and forced the regulator to re-approve its plans.
The new suffix - .xxx - was created through changes to the Domain Name System made Friday.
Once high-value keywords have been auctioned, .xxx addresses are likely to cost around $70.
The Free Speech Coalition, a trade organisation, has claimed that it will make it easier for governments to block access to pornography websites. It has asked pornographers to boycott .xxx.
India and Saudi Arabia have said they want to block all the new addresses.
ICM Registry said that .xxx "will be a professionally run outfit" and it will give users "greater confidence and certainty".
"For individuals or families wishing to avoid adult content, the machine-readable labels will allow easy and reliable filtering.