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It appears that the world of porn is getting more attention from private equity and venture capital investors. And, no, it isn't that private equity executives and deal makers are spending more time looking at porn than they are negotiating deals. (Well, maybe.) More importantly, a big investor in the space has won an award and may be opening a floodgate of capital

AdultVest is a private equity venture that we covered on its launch earlier this year. The company concentrates exclusively on adult industry investments, mergers and acquisitions. So far, its initial numbers are pretty stellar.

It claims to have some $7.9 billion in "available capital" to invest in adult themed businesses, and $286 million of that was raised "within the last 7 days." It also claims to have 3,809 registered investors, with 53 of those signing up in the last week. (This data is from the group's homepage.)

The big news is that AdultVest was just selected by Alternative Investment News as one of four funds nominated for the "Hedge Fund Launch of the Year" award. And last month, the company announced it was acquiring iPorn.com.

Reading through the earnings release that Rick's Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) produced earlier today, you might be tempted to conclude that adult entertainment is immune to a slowing economy. On the other hand, the incredibly poor recent performance by Playboy Enterprises inc. (NYSE: PLA) might make you conclude that the gathering slowdown could hurt this sector.

There are a number of reasons that the investment community is trying to get into and make money from porn. The most obvious one is that you are reading about it right here right now.

Investment conferences are usually pretty dull stuff. A dozen or so execs from small firms get 20 minutes each to stand up at the podium, run through a PowerPoint presentation and try to convince investors to throw some cash their way. Many investment banks hold them, often specializing in a particular sector.

Now the porn industry is getting what may be its first investment conference. Investment firm AdultVest has announced that it will schedule a series of ongoing meetings to bring potential investors together with business opportunities in the adult entertainment sector. This represents what may be the first go-to gathering for investors interested in adult-oriented businesses. If you're interested, here's your opportunity to be a porn mogul.

These two-day events will no doubt be a little spicier than the usual investment conference fare -- and in a sign of how popular AdultVest expects them to be, the firm will hold them every month. The press release also promises that, as the popularity of these meetings grows, they will be held in new venues like, "hotel meeting rooms, private estates, and private members clubs."