Saudi Arabia is attempting to put the skids on the sale of a number of new, top-level internet domains that are among almost 2,000 that companies have registered an interest in buying.

According to reports, Saudi Arabia’s Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has voiced dozens of objections to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN ) about 13 proposed domains, including .gay, .porn, and .sex, stating that they consider many of them to be “offensive”.

ICANN had previously released a list of 1,930 domains that various parties, including companies and government bodies, want to control. However, as part of the sales process ICANN has agreed to consider any objections to the sale of these domains by third parties – an opportunity that has been leapt on by the Saudi government, which has filed 166 of the 6,185 objections that have so far been lodged with the body.

Among the domains that have been called into question, the Saudis seemed particularly perturbed about the proposed use of.gay, an objection that is sure to rankle with gay and lesbian rights groups. In its official complaint, the Saudis stated that they opposed the sale of .gay as “many societies view homosexuality as being contrary to their religion, morality and culture”.

They say that such cultures and societies would most likely be offended by the use of a .gay domain.

.sex is also being resisted for obvious reasons, together with .virgin, .sucks, .dating and even .baby (yes, really). Apparently, these four could all be used in a pornographic sense, a big no-no in Saudi society by all accounts.

Other domains that Saudi Arabia intend to fight include .vodka and .wine, which they say glamorizes alcohol consumption, and also .casino and .poker, which the country fears could encourage people to partake in gambling (another big no-no in Saudi Arabia).

Most incredible of all however, is that the Saudi’s are apparently up in arms over the potential sale of the .africamagic domain, which they claim is linked to ‘black magic’ and could therefore be considered offensive to some people.

Are you offended by any of these domain names? Or are you more offended that people are upset about them being used? Either way, let us know what you think in the comments section below!