Fridae

Yahoo! has restored its full search facilities for discussion lists, message boards and chat rooms using terms that included the sequence 's-e-x', regardless of their context or the group's content, according to the RainbowNetwork.

The Nasdaq-listed company had originally removed all search facilties for sex-related egroups in April following a report by the Los Angeles Times that the online search company had increased the number of porn films available on its shopping pages, where the company gets a cut of the sales.

In a press statement released on April 13, Yahoo! announced that all adult-related products on their Shopping, Auctions and Classifieds websites would be removed and they would also stop accepting adult-oriented banner advertisements.

Last week, a report by the Rainbownetwork highlighted that individuals looking for transgender support lists could no longer find any support groups online.

Describing Yahoo!'s action as "scandalous" and "tantamount to censorship", Krystyna Haywood, activist for transgender rights group Press for Change said: "It meant that users could no longer locate clubs based in Essex or Sussex in the UK. Similarly, people seeking transsexual support groups also began drawing a blank."

Haywood added: "The effect of Yahoo's actions was to render this and many similar groups invisible to those most in need of their help."

In the recent weeks, members of Press for Change, OutRage! and Haywood's Trans-Yorks group has been bombarding Yahoo! with emails.

While Yahoo! has not issued any official statement, it is believed that disabling the s-e-x search facility was initially part of its overall strategy on how to treat porn. It is not known if adult-related products will be sold on its websites.