ICM Registry, the company which oversees the .xxx domain, has extended its sunrise period for corporates outside the adult content world to book and block domain names which could potentially cause embarrassment in future once the new domain goes live later this year.

ICM registry says that it has already received 900,000 expressions of interest.

The ICM Registry launch site says, "Sunrise B is the time when trademark owners and other IP holders can apply to opt-out of .xxx. This period will run for 52 days starting September 7, 2011."

The company said that Sunrise B is aimed at applicants from outside of the adult Sponsored Community.

"These applicants are owners of a qualifying trademark registration, who seek to reserve names in order to ensure that those names are not registered as domain names by others in .XXX ," said the company.

It added, "At the close of the Sunrise Period, if no conflicting application by a Sunrise A applicant has been made, these names will be reserved from registration (blocked)."

In case both Sunrise A and Sunrise B applicants want the same domain name, priority will be given to the qualified Sunrise A applicant to register the domain name.

However the company said that it would issue a notice to the Sunrise A applicant of Sunrise B applicant’s interest in the domain name so that the first applicant cannot claim lack of notice in any subsequent dispute between Sunrise A and Sunrise B applicants.

The company also said that general availability begins 6 December 2011, and remaining .XXX domain names will be allocated to applicants on a first come, first served basis.

Plans to establish exclusive domains for pornography websites go back to 2003 when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) first announced it. However, the regulator had to block the plan in 2007 after opposition from the US government, which opposed the creation of .xxx on moral grounds.

This year in March it was ICM Registry, which proposed the .xxx change.

Icann, the group which administers Web addresses across the world, approved the proposal at a meeting in San Francisco.

While, nine board members voted for the approval, three voted against it.

The board of Icann said that ICM Registry would be allowed to oversee the .xxx domain and that the address is not mandatory for adult content websites.

The backers of the scheme said that the creation of an exclusive domain for pornography websites would prevent viruses, identity theft, credit card fraud and child abuse. They also claimed that it will help people filter out .xxx content if they so wanted.

Icann had also said that ICM Registry will sell addresses with the new domain for $60 annually.

ICM Registry CEO Stuart Lawley had said that the decision was a "landmark moment" for the Internet.

Lawley had said, "For the first time, there will be a clearly defined Web address for adult entertainment, out of the reach of minors and as free as possible from fraud or malicious computer viruses."

Lawley had also said that ICM Registry will discuss the change with governments around the world "to ensure they fully understand the nature and self regulatory nature of .xxx".

"Everybody wins," said Lawley. "The consumer of adult sites wins. The providers will benefit because more people will become paying customers. And those who don’t want to go there will win as well, because the sites will be easier to filter."