.XXX websites go on general sale today

All those dodgy “sexting” snaps you’ve been storing on your smartphone may finally come to good use today, as anyone can now try their hand at running a porn site with sales of .xxx domains opening.

Until now, the ICM Registry (stewards of the top-level .xxx domain) have reserved the .xxx sites for big brands, but Tuesday December 6th marks the general sale of the domains, open to all.

“Availability of .XXX domain names on a first come, first served basis,” said Stuart Lawley, CEO of ICM Registry. “The new .XXX domain functions as a responsible alternative for sites that offer adult entertainment content and related services. All .XXX sites are appropriately labeled and McAfee Malware scanned. This means Internet users have a clear indication in advance of a site’s content and can surf the Internet with more confidence.”

Somewhere in the region of 100,000 .xxx domains are going live on Tuesday.

The ICM Registry campaigned for many years to get the green-light for .xxx domains before getting approval earlier this year. However, major players in the porn industry have been sceptical of the move, fearing that it will further isolate and demonise their position on the web.