Vatican .xxx domain sale sparks porn fears
The Vatican is bracing itself for an unwanted association with a likely porn site after it emerged that an unknown buyer had snapped up the Vatican.xxx domain.
.xxx domains went on sale last month as part of a bid by ICANN, the body overseeing domain names, to liberalise the market.
Although designed to cater for the porn market many have in fact been purchased by brands eager to remain disassociated from the adult industry – although the Vatican deny this is the case in this instance.
Vatican spokesman Father Frederico Lombardi said: “This domain is not available because it has been acquired by someone else, but not the Vatican.”
Companies will soon be able to purchase their own domains, paving the way for suffixes such as .adidas and .mcdonalds.