Namecoin can do more than just DNS:
Namecoin is not a domain name system, but a name→value associated array. So there isn't a need for a hack or fork. That's the beauty of the whole idea! 
A Namecoin "name" is composed of slash-seperated substrings, first of which is the "application specifier".
The current domain name system based on Namecoin uses the "d/" application specifier, with "s/" OR "dd/" proposed to specify extra domain data. That is, if you register "d/example", the value will contain information for example.bit.
A Namecoin "name" is composed of slash-seperated substrings, first of which is the "application specifier".
The current domain name system based on Namecoin uses the "d/" application specifier, with "s/" OR "dd/" proposed to specify extra domain data. That is, if you register "d/example", the value will contain information for example.bit.