More 100,000 Web sites using the .xxx domain hit the Web on Tuesday morning, heightening debate over the new top-level Internet designation.

The International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved .xxx in March, and the domain went up for general sale last Tuesday.

According to a release from ICM, the registry responsible for overseeing all .xxx sites, the action offers a “responsible alternative” for sites that offer adult content, since it clearly identifies the kind of site that users can expect to see when they click on a link.

Debate over the new domain has been fierce, with both the adult industry and anti-porn activists criticizing the move. Anti-porn groups such as Morality in Media have argued that .xxx will make it easier to find Web sites with pornographic material and would “increase, not decrease” access to pornographic Web sites.

On the other hand, while some adult entertainment companies have embraced the new designation, others say that the move is anticompetitive.

Two large pornography companies, Manwin and Digital Playground, recently sued ICM and ICANN over the domain name, accusing them of anticompetitive practices. Manwin said that the fees for .xxx are unacceptably high and that creating the domain name forces “defensive registrations,” where copyright holders have to register an .xxx site “to keep cyber-squatters from exploiting those names.”

In a release from Manwin, which operates the site YouPorn and online content for Playboy, managing partner Fabian Thylmann said that “ending anticompetitive practices by ICM and ICANN will not only protect our business but help other companies compelled to pay a fee to keep their names unassociated with a .xxx designation.”

ICM has set up an arbitration process to deal with complaints regarding .xxx domain name registrations.

WashingtonPost