Sex.com loses its lustre

HOT PROPERTY: The auction for the much-sought-after domain name sex.com has been cancelled.

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The suitors for Sex.com have been put off for now. An auction for the much-sought-after domain name has been cancelled after three creditors filed a petition forcing the owner into bankruptcy.

Mike Mann, an investor with all three creditors says the petition was filed to stop the auction. The creditors have a combined US$10.1 million ($14.2 million) claim.

Mann says selling the domain name at an auction was not going to enhance its value. Sex.com is considered one of the most expensive domain names in Internet history.

Escom LLC paid a reported US$12 million to US$14 million for it in 2006 but has been unable to pay the lender who backed the deal.

The opening bid for the auction was set at $1 million.

- AP