ICANN Delays .XXX Decision Until 2011

Ready to track pornographic websites via a single, unifying domain name? Keep waiting. The delays never seem to end for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which is postponing the decision to adopt the much-discussed ".xxx" domain until February 2011 at the earliest.
The organization—commonly referred to as ICANN—announced that it's looking to adopt the domain, currently held by ICM Registry, and raise it to the same status as typical .com, .mil, and .edu top-level domains. However, disagreements between ICANN and its Governmental Advisory Committee, whose members represent governments worldwide, have again postponed the move.
Although some members of the GAC oppose the domain on public policy grounds, ICANN has nevertheless decided to go forward with its plans to launch .xxx as a legitimate domain—first, by entering into a registry agreement with ICM Registry. However, ICANN has also signaled its intent to hold talks with said Governmental Advisory Committee in February 2011 before finalizing the deal—presumably to address unhappy members' concerns.
Interestingly enough, even those who would most benefit from an .xxx domain—those running pornography sites of their own—have weighed in on the proposal and asked ICANN to scuttle the new domain entirely. To them, the move is seen as a money-grab: They'd be forced to register a new domain name that would allegedly cost six times that of a standard .com domain.
As well, reports The Register's Kevin Murphy, "Registrants will have to have their identities verified, and $10 from each domain will go to a new organization focused on supporting free speech and child protection efforts."
Nevertheless, ICANN remains stalwart in the face of criticism for the new domain. According to spokespeople for the organization, the delay for bringing .xxx to life has nothing to do with any opposition from religious or conservative groups opposed to the measure. Provided ICANN can smooth over contentions from governmental representatives—which isn't a shoe-in, given just how many times the domain itself has been approved, rejected, and appealed—the top-level pornographic domain might actually see the light of day… more than five years after it was initially proposed.