Online-classifieds site Craigslist said on Wednesday that it will remove the "erotic services" category of advertisements from its U.S. Web site in a week, after the site was criticized by law enforcement agencies as providing a forum for prostitution and other illegal activities.
Postings to the erotic services category will not be accepted from Wednesday, the site said on its blog.
Craigslist has also set up, starting Wednesday, a new category, called "adult services", on its U.S. web sites, which will be open for postings by legal adult service providers.
Postings to this new category will be manually reviewed before appearing on the site, to ensure compliance with Craigslist posting guidelines and terms of use. New postings will cost US$10, but once approved, will be eligible for reposting at $5, Craigslist said.
The decision was criticized by New York's attorney general Andrew Cuomo who said he suspects the action will prove to be half-baked. The office of the attorney general informed Craigslist some weeks ago of an impending criminal case that implicated its Web site.
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