ROME, JAN 10 (ZENIT).- For almost a year, the web page http://www.vaticano.org/ has unashamedly tried to copy the official Vatican page ( http://www.vatican.va/ ). The confusion created was especially strong given that the format used was also a copy of the Vatican's site. Among papal messages, encyclicals and activities, irreverent pagan texts were introduced in a subtle way.

    Needless to say, some of the page's visitors were offended the deception. Consequently, one of the organizations that manages the Internet domains, Network Solutions, has decided not to renew the license for the domain vaticano.org to the "Luther Blisset" software society, a group based in Rome that has taken similar initiatives in the past.

    Last Christmas, a similar case occured with http://www.vatican.com , which featured irreverant doctored photos of the Holy Father. That page now comes up with the test page for the installation of the web server.

    Network Solutions disclosed it had sold the vaticano.org domain to an Italian Catholic association that will report on the Jubilee. For the time being, the new page is not available; it appears with the message "under construction." ZE00011001