$65m for Sex.com

However, the award may be purely academic as the defendant, Stephen Cohen, has failed to attend scheduled court appearances and is said to be in hiding in Mexico, with money banked in foreign accounts.

The award by US District Judge James Ware marks the end of a three-year battle over the domain name, thought to be one of the most inherently lucrative on the net.

The judge found that Cohen had stolen the domain name from Gary Kremen, by forging documents to domain name registrars.

The judge awarded Kremen $40m in lost income, and $25m in punitive damages. Kremen originally registered the URL in 1994.

Cohen has made a successful business from sex.com, reputedly raking in $60,000 a month for banner adverts. However, in November last year the judge accepted Kremen's arguments and gave him back control of the domain, and since then he has been running his own business on the site.

Cohen faces arrest if he returns to the US for failing to attend compulsory court appearances. His lawyers told the judge he did not have the money to pay the damages.