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Yahoo Confirms Porn Sales
Leading Internet portal Yahoo has quietly expanded its online offerings of pornographic videos as it searches for new sources of revenue.
Yahoo! started selling erotic films last year but increased the list in recent weeks to include thousands of hard-core videos and DVDs, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
Adult-video merchants tied to the "adult and erotica" store on Yahoo Shopping said it was relaunched to help combat a sharp drop in advertising. The company earns a share of the sales.
Yahoo! officials declined to talk about the pornography sales. In a 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.
Analysts told the Times that the sale of porn may alienate companies that advertise with the company, whose Web pages are viewed by about 185 million people a month.
Yahoo announced Wednesday that it was laying off 12 percent of its work force in response to a second consecutive quarterly loss.
Other major Internet companies, including America Online and the Microsoft Network, have avoided X-rated sales on their own pages but provide links to porn sites.
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