The ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) has made a final decision to allow adult websites to attach the .XXX domain name to their sites.

Despite protests from the online porn industry, ICANN has passed .XXX into approval. Their rationale is that with a dedicated domain name, underage users of the internet would be kept away from porn.

There's worry that cordoning off sex websites into a corner of the internet means they can be censored all too easily, and also that it legitimises the industry.

This is not the first time, however, that such a domain name has been campaigned for. Efforts to introduce a .XXX domain name have been around since 2003.

Stuart Lawley, chief executive of ICM, will oversee the switch, and he said, "ICANN's decision to give .XXX final approval is a landmark moment for the internet."

He also said that consumers will be prepared to make purchases on such websites as their payments would be secure. Over 200,000 URLs have been reserved, and are expected to sell for $70 (£43).

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Via: TechRadar