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Are domain names the only commodity immune from the bout of depression currently engulfing assets (financial or otherwise) worldwide? Judging by the number of secondhand domain sales being touted at the moment, it seems so.

The latest sale to be confirmed is freeporn.com for the whopping amount of US$4 million, while domain name auctions held since the start of the year have generated equally impressive numbers.

At the end of last month, Snapnames' live auction netted over US$3 million for some 400 names, the best seller being porn.net for US$400,000. At an another auction, this one specializing in adult names, 60 odd domains pushed total sales up to US$1.1 million. Top seller there was MaturePorn.com for US$130,000, while a bundle of domains was sold for US$550,000.

The secondhand domain market seems to be unstoppable at the moment. Why? Probably because domain name fundamentals are so solid. As unique identifiers, domains have undeniable intrinsic value. Bag yourself a good domain name today, one that is capable of pushing high traffic volumes to your website, and its value can only go up as the Internet continues to grow and strengthen as the world's premier source of information and commerce.

So far, the adult industry seems to understand this better than anyone else. But that can't last forever…