Source: AP
By:
(SANTA CLARA, CA) — Yahoo Inc. is quietly going where no top Internet company has gone before: the sale of pornography.
The company, whose Web pages are viewed by about 185 million people a month, has opened an online store selling thousands of hard-core video tapes and DVDs. The company earns a share of the sales.
Yahoo officials declined to talk to the Los Angeles Times about the porn store. In a written statement Tuesday, they said that “under stringent control, adult products have been available through Yahoo Shopping for more than two years.”
The company has expanded efforts to block underage shoppers, requiring buyers to register an e-mail address and enter a credit card number. The card is checked to verify shoppers’ ages before they can make a purchase.
Analysts told the Times that the sale of porn may alienate Yahoo’s advertisers, its biggest source of cash. Yahoo is expected to report its second consecutive quarterly loss today.
Other major Internet companies, including America Online and the Microsoft Network, have stayed away from porn-video sales.
