ICANN approves .xxx extension

Friday we posted a message about the fact that the .sx extension (Sint Maarten) could be a great alternative for the .xxx domain since ICANN didn’t make a final decision about the .xxx domain. Finally ICANN made a decision, the .xxx extension has been approved.

The .xxx extension will be the ‘adult’ extension on the Internet. Everyone who has got anything to do with the adult entertainment industry can register a .xxx domain name. ICM Registry will be responsible for the management of this new extension. Registrations can only be done via ICANN Accredited Registrars.

The release of the .xxx domain will happen in several phases:

• Sunrise A: During this sunrise, only individuals who are a member of the sponsored community and who already are the owner of a registered trade mark can register this trade mark under the .xxx domain. A member of the sponsored community is someone who already operates pornographic website.
• Sunrise B: During this phase, owners of registered trade marks who aren’t a member of the sponsored community can block their domain name under the .xxx extension.
• Sunrise C: During this sunrise, members of the sponsored community who now have a domain name registered under a different extension can register this domain name under the .xxx domain.

Those 3 sunrise phases will be followed by a landrush and finally the general availability.