The long battle to create a distinct domain for internet pornography is over. ICM Registry posted a press release today announcing that .XXX domain names went on sale at this morning at 11:00.

The goal of the new domain, which has drawn sharp criticism from religious groups, is to consolidate much of the internet’s pornographic content in one place. The .xxx domain provides users with a clear label by which they can identify adult content on the web, allowing those who want to find the material to do so more easily, but also allowing those who wish to avoid it – or protect their children from it – to do that more easily as well.

Accordingly, the .xxx domain is subject to a number of domain-wide safeguards, which provide it an unprecedented level of security. Each site is scanned daily by McAfee Malware, and each includes includes a MetaCert Family Safety label. The safety label is intended to make it easy for parents, organizations, or individual users to avoid the domain by enabling them to simply adjust their browser settings in order to steer clear.

The project has taken something of a pounding from critics, most of them religious groups who fear that the new domain will only add to the already prolific amount of pornography available online. While the goal of the domain is exactly the opposite, inclusion in the domain is not mandatory. That fact may lend some credence to opponents’ concerns. Though the domains that have been or will be purchased in coming days could not possibly all belong to new sites, there appears to be no hard data on which are and which aren’t. Moreover, it remains unclear whether those sites that do move to the new domain will also take down their original sites, or whether their original sites.

ICM, which is selling the domains through accredited registrars rather than distributing them directly, set up a web portal allowing users to check on the availability of desired domains and begin the purchasing process. A ticker at the bottom of the purchase portal reports that 80,000 domains have already been sold.Purchase prices are set by registrars, rather than by ICM itself, making it unclear how much ICM stands to make as the number of registered domains skyrockets over the next few days.