They want to get in on the action, but they're always skittish about how to do it. To this day, RealNetworks and the rest of the streaming technology companies refuse to break out sales figures to show adult Web site usage. Likewise, major hardware companies such as Sun Microsystems don't advertise the number of adult sites using their machines as servers. X-rated Web enterprises provide a vast and valuable testing ground. And to those mired in failing e-businesses, the resulting sex site profits must seem positively obscene.
Analysts occasionally take a stab at estimating the net worth of the adult Web.
Yahoo had a good little thing for a while. Some day there will be a media company that stands up and says, 'Sex is a part of life and communication, and we're not going to apologize. In March, Jupiter Media Metrix estimated that more than 30 million users made their way to an adult site. Inevitably, they find exactly what they seek. The Net delivers images quickly and privately to your monitor.