Singapore bans adultery website Ashley Madison before its launch

Singapore's government yesterday banned the extramarital dating website Ashley Madison ahead of its expected launch in the conservative city-state, saying it goes against "family values and public morality".

The international site - which facilitates "married dating, discreet encounters and extramarital affairs" - had set up the www.ashleymadison.sg domain for Singapore residents to express their interest in its services before a presumed official launch later this month. But last night, the portal was no longer accessible.

"It is against the public interest to allow Ashley Madison to promote its website in flagrant disregard of our family values and public morality," state regulator Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement.

"We will therefore not allow Ashley Madison to operate in Singapore and have worked with internet service providers to block access to the site," it said.

The Canada-based website, which boasts more than 20 million users and the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair", has been expanding in Asia, with recent launches in Japan, India and Hong Kong.

MDA said that while it recognised that it was not practical to block every website with "undesirable content", Ashley's Madison's adultery-promoting objectives made it stand out from other such sites. "It aggressively promotes and facilitates extramarital affairs and has declared that it will specifically target Singaporeans," it said.