Porn barons cash in on charity domains

Internet users looking for UK charity websites may be shocked to find themselves confronted with images of hardcore porn.

A number of domains with names deceptively similar to those of UK charities have been registered by porn barons, who are presumably cashing in on misdirected clicks from surfers seeking quite different content.

According to news service Ananova, some of those affected by the embarrassing mix-ups include the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS).

In both cases the official websites are found at org.uk domains, so visiting bhf.org.uk and ndcs.org.uk will take you to the relevant charity sites.

But neglecting to add the .uk suffix will take you to pictures of 'busty horny females' and 'nude dames' involved in rather unsavoury pursuits.

Both domains are run by US porn entrepreneur Harold Meyer. The charities have challenged Meyer's ownership of the domains in a Geneva court, referring the matter to the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

Although the BHF's complaint has been rejected, Meyer has been ordered to hand over the NDCS.org domain, but has yet to do so as he plans to launch a counterclaim.

A quick scan of other UK charity sites reveals that most are in possession of both the .org and .org.uk versions of their names.