Singapore's government today 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 today 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.
