Swedes up in arms over porn site

Citizens of Stockholm are up in arms that their city's name will be associated with a pornographic website.

City officials are looking for ways to stop an adult entertainment company in Spain from launching a blue website using the Stockholm.com domain name.

The city, which bought the world smorgasbord, the massage, dynamite and liberal sex education policies, says it does not want to be associated with hardcore pornography.

According to Associated Press reports, Stockholm has tried unsuccessfully for 10 years to acquire the domain, initially held by an individual in Florida.

The city's information technology department head, Kjell Bergefall, said the issue became more pressing this week when it became clear that the travel information currently posted on the site is to be replaced with adult entertainment.

"Before, it contained tourist information about Stockholm. Now it will contain a message we don't think our citizens are as interested in," Bergefall said.

The domain contains an announcement from Barcelona-based Private Media Group saying it would launch a website in the fall with a "unique picture of Sweden, its natural beauty and charm."

City of Stockholm legal department spokesman Oscar Jacobsson said it was difficult for the city to evict anyone who used the names as there was not the same protection that there is for brand names.

Several American cities - including San Diego, Seattle and Nashville - have also had their names appropriated for pornography.

Only Barcelona, which wrested www.barcelona.com away from a New York-based company that used it for a news site, has been successful in court battles over domain names.