Lisbon, March 30 (Reuters): The US-based Internet governing body rejected a proposal today to create an adults-only zone on the Internet, or a .XXX domain.

The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which manages the Internet’s domain-name address system, decided to reject the application of .XXX sites at a meeting of the organisation in Portugal, it said.

“This decision was the result of very careful scrutiny and consideration of all the arguments,” Dr Vinton Cerf, chairman of ICANN, said in a statement on the group’s website.

“That consideration had led a majority of the board to believe that the proposal should be rejected.”

Supporters of an .XXX domain for pornography have argued it would be easier to confine sex sites and filter them out.

Opponents have argued it would make sex on the Internet easier to find.

The anticipated rejection of the .XXX domain has prompted the EU to accuse the US of political interference in the Web’s governance.

ICANN assigns domains to Internet sites, such as the .com and .org abbreviations used for websites. It is expected to hold a press conference later today.