Over 100,000 XXX Domain Names Are Going Live Tomorrow At 11 EST

(courtesy sfgate.com)

The next generation of online porn launches tomorrow at 11 AM EST.

We asked the guy behind XXX domain names who stands to benefit from the changeover.

ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley has been working with internet regulators ICANN since the 1990s to create the adult entertainment domain name. The separate domain would allow adult entertainment providers to register under a unique identifier, as well as allow consumers not looking for porn to bypass it entirely.

"There's a lot of information out there on the Internet," Lawley said, adding that his domain idea would make it easier to compile that information.

All triple X sites would labeled as such on Firefox and other browsers, making it easier for parents to block the content, Lawley said.

effort's slogan. The porn industry isn't going anywhere and the new domain will make it easier for consumers to avoid stumbling upon a porn website, not flood the Internet with adult images.

But even with the added security measures, getting the domain idea approved by ICANN and accepted by the public has been difficult.

"The process to date has been fairly tortuous," Lawley said.

The domain has been opposed by conservative Christian groups, orthodox Middle Eastern regimes, and even some companies in the adult entertainment world.

Christian NewsWire in particular is vehemently opposed to the idea, calling on readers to "kill the .XXX Domain."

But inclusion in the domain isn't mandatory. Lawley stressed the idea is a way to bring like-minded sites together to make it easier for the consumer and not a way to stifle the porn industry's web presence.

"We're staunch advocates of free expression," he said.

So far, more than 100,000 domain names have been registered. ICM expects that number to double within the first few weeks of the domain going public. While prices vary depending on which registrar registers the site, Lawley said it usually costs between $70 and $100 to create a .XXX website.

It's difficult for ICM to estimate how much money it will make off the idea, since profits depend on the number of registrants, but the company's wholesale price for domains is $60.