CYBERSPACE – In another example of the adult industry being consistently on the leading edge of entertainment technology, porn is well-represented in the first wave of content being viewed by users of Apple’s new video iPod.The ease of encoding content for the device, along with the relative dearth of other forms of content initially available for Apple’s new player, has led to a scenario much like that of the Net’s early days, when porn files comprised an even higher fraction of downloaded photo and video files than they do today.

“It’s no secret that it was adult-oriented sites that helped drive demand and technological advance for the Internet itself,” writes Macworld’s Jonny Evans. “The industry is also not scared to experiment. Playboy’s decision in December last year to release an image gallery of some its models for the iPod photo proves this.”

Beyond the simplicity of creating adult content, the adult industry’s comparatively loose restrictions on the use of copyrighted content, lax enforcement of infringement, and the common practice of allowing webmaster affiliates to distribute promotional content as an advertising method are also contributing factors to porn’s quick expansion into the new iPod video market.

Evans says a protectionist attitude prevalent in mainstream entertainment today is major factor limiting the expansion of non-adult content for the device, as well.

“Paranoid copyright owners won’t permit music fans to capture and share even a single second of an artist’s live performance, without the permission of the artists,” Evans notes. “And while the music industry has created an environment which demands permission, it has taken no known steps to create a way to easily acquire such consent.”

Both Oh Mobile and Xobile, major adult mobile operations backed by Porn Dollar and AEBN, respectively, have told Ynot that they are actively and rapidly encoding content for the new iPod video, and they expect the device to have a massive market, drawn in large part from the massive market of existing iTunes users.