The twists and turns keep on coming in the internet soap opera that is the sex.com domain name saga.

The latest instalment comes with the announcement that the domain name itself has been sold for an estimated $14m.

Gary Kremen, entrepreneur and court-backed rightful owner of the sex.com domain name, announced yesterday that he had sold the domain to US firm Escom for an undisclosed sum.

Kremen, who is also chief executive of Grant Media and founder of Match.com, said only that the deal is "believed to be among the most significant domain sale transactions in history".

The new sex.com will develop its presence in the adult entertainment market, branching out to include adult dating, sex and relationship advice, erotica, multimedia, adult products, video-on-demand, live video chat, and communities of like-minded interests, Kremen said.

Bizarrely, however, the sale means that the long running court drama over the theft and subsequent return of the sex.com domain name will now continue without the domain in question being owned by the prosecuting party.

Only recently, the man found guilty of fraudulently obtaining the domain name was finally arrested after almost eight years on the run.

Stephen Cohen was taken into custody by Mexican authorities in October and promptly turned over to US marshals, a move that should spell the end of an eight-year court battle between Cohen and Kremen.

A federal court found Cohen guilty of obtaining the sex.com domain through fraudulent action in 2000, and ordered him to pay damages totalling $65m to Kremen.

Cohen appealed, but his case was thrown out of court on the grounds that he was a fugitive from justice, and has been throughout the entire court case.