Missing sex?

This email, circulating across Asia Pacific, does not peddle adult material nor self-improvement advice. Rather, it solicits registrations for what is claimed to be "the latest domain name extension."

The message reads like this:

The latest domain name extension is here .SEX!!! It's the fresh ,new, exciting web address that is taking the world by storm.

Who wants to be .com when you can now be .SEX

Register your .SEX domain name today exclusively at: http://www.dotsex.com

Users who try to access Web addesses with the .sex suffix, however, are in for a disappointment. Instead of pin-up heartthrobs and accompanying paraphernalia, surfers are greeted by an "unable to locate server" error message.

This led to concerns that the .sex drive was a sham.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) would not commit to whether these domain names are illegal.

ICANN is a non-profit international body that coordinates the technical management of the Internet's domain name and root server systems, as well as the allocation of IP addresses.

The organisation's spokesperson Mary Hewitt declined to state its stand regarding non-ICANN accredited registrars, but pointed to a May 2001 working paper which said that ICANN does not encourage the sale of .sex domains, or any other unapproved extensions.

However, no law forbids independent registrars from offering non-ICANN top-level domains. US-based TLD Networks and Domain Name Systems are two such examples.

TLD Networks, the company responsible for circulating the above email, did not respond to queries. It charges US$59 per year for each .sex registration.

And for Domain Name Systems, there's no let up as business has been brisk.

"We've received 'thousands' of registrations for .sex primarily from adult content providers all over the world," said Domain Name Systems CEO Gord Jeske. Each .sex registration costs US$25 per annum.

Jeske said that the company began offering alternative domain names after ICANN's failed attempts to expand the global top-level domain base. It's .sex registration began in November 2000.

Among top-level domains introduced by ICANN are .com, .net and .org, which have been in use since the 1980s. Over 30 million of these Web addresses are currently being maintained by US-based VeriSign Global Registry Services.

Other approved domains include .biz, .info, .name, .aero, .coop, .museum and .pro.

"We recognised early on in the name registration business that adult oriented Web sites comprise a vast majority of ongoing registrations," Jeske said. "Based on feedback from our clients, we felt that .sex and .xxx top-level domains would be well received, and in many cases, welcomed."

And since these alternative top-level domains are not officially sanctioned by ICANN, the issue of accountability remains a grey area.

"Should there be a dispute over a .sex domain name or the quality of service offered by its registrar, there is no regulatory body to govern that," said Network Solutions Asia Pacific managing director Arthur Chang.

Network Solutions is an ICANN-accredited registrar and follows the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP) laid down by the international body.

Legitimate business notwithstanding, such independent registrars are accused by ICANN of being "insular."

Web addresses, which run on alternative root servers, cannot be accessed by the Internet community at large. To access .sex sites, users have to first tweak their computers' network settings.

In Domain Name Systems' case, customers have to download a proprietary browser to allow surfers to reach .sex and .xxx sites registered through the company.

Although ICANN warns that surfers face the risk of insecure transactions--with the exchange of confidential data or monies--taking place on these sites, users don't seem too concerned. In fact, research and consulting company Ovum predicts that revenues for adult entertainment will hit US$5.8 billion in 2007, from the present US$700 million.

This apparent free-for-all in the alternative domain name scene has spawned many new players.

These domains may have limited reach compared with ICANN-approved ones, but this is no deterrent to businesses with a niche market in mind. As one industry watcher observed: "Anyone who is going to be filing for a .sex domain isn't targeting the general Internet world...they are targeting certain groups of people."

Since there is demand, the .sexes and .xxxes of the world will continue to multiply. And in the spirit of the free Internet, no one can impede its growth...not even ICANN.

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