Sex always makes a good story for the media, and so it has again
recently with the .XXX Top Level Domain about to be discussed again at
ICANN's Nairobi, Kenya, meeting this week and the SEX.COM domain name up
for grabs again next week to the highest bidder.
The proposal for the .XXX TLD, specifically for adult websites, has been resurrected following its rejection by ICANN in 2005 and then an independent review last month that concluded the decision was unfair and it should be reconsidered. The proposal has been scheduled to be discussed at ICANN's board meeting this Friday.
If approved, Stuart Lawley, chairman of ICM Registry who proposed the new TLD, has said they could be selling .XXX domain names by the end of 2010. However an ICANN spokesman said there was "no indication what action the ICANN board will take". And it is most likely the board will decide to consult with other members of ICANN and the internet community.
In other sex-related domain news, the SEX.COM domain name is set to be auctioned next week with the potential it could set a record for the highest reported domain name sale.
The domain name is up for auction on 18 March with opening bids starting at $1 million. The domain name has had a controversial past, expertly described by Kieren McCarthy in his book called Sex.com. In the publicity for the book McCarthy asks "how far would you go to get the internet's most valuable property?"
The sex.com saga has been a battle between two men - Gary Kremen and Stephen Cohen who have gone to extraordinary lengths to gain ownership of the domain name.
In his book, McCarthy outlines "the full story behind the battle for Sex.com from its registration way back in May 1994, to its theft a year later by lifelong con-man Stephen Cohen," according to the book's website.
"The fight soon hit newspapers and TV screens across the world and sucked in the most powerful company on the Internet, as well as the Supreme Court. Ultimately, it determined the future of how the law sees the buildings blocks of the Internet - domain names - forever. But much more than that, it revealed what men are capable of when all their worldly desires are contained within one possession."
The last time it was sold, it cost the current owner $14 million and now there are around 120,000 people visiting the site each month.
The domain name is being sold by Maltz Auctions with more information available at maltzauctions.com/auction_detail.php?id=128401
For more information on Kieren McCarthy's book on the saga, see sexdotcom.info
David Goldstein