Singapore bans Ashley Madison adultery website

Singapore's government on Friday banned the extramarital dating website Ashley Madison ahead of an 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 opened 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 on Friday evening, 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," the 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 is notorious for its slogan "Life is short. Have an affair", has been aggressively expanding in Asia, with recent launches in Japan, India and Hong Kong. MDA said that while it recognised that it is 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. The move follows a public outcry in Singapore against the site, including a sharp rebuke by a cabinet minister. More than 26,000 have clicked "Like" on the Facebook page "Block Ashley Madison" since it was launched on October 23. The page states that it is a "petition that aims to gather sound-minded people to express our objection to the establishment of the shameless company - Ashley Madison, that thrives on shattered marriages in Singapore". Singapore, has long been perceived as a prudish society, but that image is evolving due to changing social attitudes, growing affluence and a large influx of tourists and expatriates. The government and church groups, however, continue to promote conservative values and it is still illegal for men to have sex with other men. MDA blocks dozens of websites, mostly featuring pornographic, extremist and hateful content.