InterNIC sells WebTechs domain name to porn site.

WebTechs, the first Web-based HTML validation service, created in 1994, is locked in a battle with the InterNIC domain registration service after it sold webtechs.com_s domain to another company. Instead of linking to a practical software service users accessing www.webtechs.com are faced with the porn site registered by Virtual Domain Buyers on 18 March. And because of its status among the Web community it_s estimated that there are nearly 35,000 links pointing to the webtechs.com domain -- now all pointing to a Danish porn site. Mark Gaither, one of the co-founders of WebTechs, said the error lies with Network Solutions which has benefited from an exclusive US government contract since 1993 to register Net addresses under the InterNIC service. "It is clear that the InterNIC has made a clerical error," said Gaither, "and I_ve contacted an attorney to explore my options." But Ch. Regan, corporate communications manager for Network Solutions Inc, insists that WebTechs_ registration had lapsed and that it was perfectly within its rights to re-register the domain to another company. Last month, Network Solutions purged 18,000 domain names because of late payments although Regan could not confirm if webtechs.com was part of this mass wipe out. Attempts to contact the new registered owners of webtechs.com proved unsuccessful and according to international telephone enquiries, there is no record of Virtual Domain Buyers at the Danish address.