The first controversial .xxx Web addresses have gone live after years of negotiation.
A suffix for pornography-only sites was first proposed 11 years ago, and the first sites using it went live around midnight on Friday, April 15.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the U.S. Department of Commerce were both involved in the project, along with other parties. The International Foundation for Online Responsibility oversaw the application.
At the moment the .xxx extension will only be available to premium sites in the adult entertainment industry, opening to the majority later in the year.
It is hoped that by creating a virtual “red-light district,” the seedier parts of the Web will be placed in a set area which is easy to control and monitor.
However, some countries do not agree. Last month, it was reported that India will block the .xxx top level domain name, with government officials stating that they consider it immoral.