WWW- XXX has been used as the universal symbol for pornography on everything from bookstores to movie houses to video outlets.

But for the Internet, the moniker has become a bit of a scarlet letter, as global Net supervisors have struggled over whether to use XXX as a domain for pornography.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers creates the domains in which a website can exist, such as .com, .net and .gov. The organization is set to discuss next month whether to establish a .xxx domain. People can voice their opinions on ICANN’s website, www.icann.org.

There are currently 13 top-level commercial domains and more than 160 domains for countries, such as .fr for France and .us for the United States. But the Internet continues to expand, and more domains provide more flexibility for address names.

ICANN, a global regulatory body, was on the verge of approving a .xxx domain in 2005, but the organization backed off when the U.S. Commerce Department voiced its opposition.

Supporters say a .xxx tag would help parents filter out pornographic and illegal websites because companies under the domain would have to adhere to strict rules.

Opponents, such as Focus on the Family, say the .xxx domain would legitimatize the industry and expand the amount of pornography on the Internet.

“We don’t support an effort that would further legitimize an industry that puts out material that we believe is illegal and harmful,” said Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality for Focus on the Family. “It has the unintended effect of proliferating pornography on the Internet.”

Some producers and retailers of adult products also oppose the special name, claiming it would segregate their content and eventually lead to censorship.

Getting a .xxx domain name would be voluntary, but companies are already lining up to use the moniker. According to ICM Registry, the Jupiter, Fla., company leading the .xxx effort, more than 500,000 website names ending in .xxx have been preregistered.

“It would give a space for responsible members of the adult- entertainment community,” said Stuart Lawley [pictured], chief executive of ICM Registry. “The whole point of this was to encourage a migration to .xxx.”

However, some members of the adult-entertainment industry who make up the Free Speech Coalition are firmly against the domain.

The group proposes the creation of a .kids domain to direct families to child-friendly websites, rather than establishing a .xxx domain to be filtered out.

If the proposal is approved, ICM Registry would be granted the right to sell .xxx domain names. Lawley, an Internet entrepreneur from England, said he plans to charge $60 per .xxx Web address and would donate $10 of each sale to child-protection groups.

Lawley said he has spent $4 million of his own money funding ICM Registry’s efforts to get .xxx approval.

Parry Aftab, an Internet security and privacy lawyer who runs an online-safety group called wiredsafety.org, favors Lawley’s approach to managing adult-entertainment Internet content.

ICM Registry’s guidelines – which tell .xxx registrants to not publish child pornography, not pretend to be other sites, such as Disney, and not defraud consumers – will help protect children and consumers, Aftab said.

“This will let the people that want to use these sites know which ones have adopted best business practices,” she said.