Man from "Fort Gay" banned from XBL by "mistake"

Microsoft's said a decision to ban an American man from Xbox Live because he lives in a town called Fort Gay was a "mistake" and the company's going to "make it right."

Xbox Live rules boss Stephen Toulouse was has admitted the decision was flawed.

"Someone took the phrase 'fort gay WV' and believed that the individual who had that was trying to offend, or trying to use it in a pejorative manner," Toulouse explained. "Unfortunately, one of my people agreed with that. ... When it was brought to my attention, we did revoke the suspension."

He added: "In this very, very specific case, a mistake was made, and we're going to make it right."

Josh Moore, 26, is not impressed, however.

"At first I thought, 'Wow, somebody's thinking I live in the gayest town in West Virginia or something.' I was mad ... It makes me feel like they hate gay people," he told the AP.

"I'm not even gay, and it makes me feel like they were discriminating."

Fort Gay mayor, David Thompson, got involved. He was similarly annoyed.

"It was so inappropriate for them," he said, "they wouldn't even say the word. They said, 'that word'.

Microsoft has been dogged by issues concerning the use of homosexual terminology on Xbox Live, but most recently has allowed people to express their sexuality in their GamerTags.

Thanks, EG.