The company that oversees web addresses is expected to give the go-ahead today for the creation of a .xxx suffix for websites with pornographic content, company officials indicated .

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which oversees the internet on behalf of the US government, has in the past resisted creating a .xxx generic domain name system akin to those for .com and .net.

It has in recent years repeatedly rejected a request by US company ICM Registry to sign off on the .xxx domain.

But members of ICANN's board have argued that in order to maintain neutrality in dealing with domain name assignations, it should create .xxx and allow websites with sexually explicit content to start using the suffix on a voluntary basis.