Virginia has become the first US state to mandate internet safety classes for
children.
Texas and Illinois already have laws on the books for similar lessons but
Virginia is the first to make the lessons mandatory.
The move follows increasing fears that paedophiles are using the internet to
prey on younger users.
Virginia assistant attorney general Gene Fishel launched the initiative with
a series of classroom lectures at the James River High School.
Children were shown a social networking profile of 'hotlilflgirl', who
claimed to be 15, enjoyed being with boys and wanted to meet new people.
Fishel then showed them who actually posted the profile: a 31 year-old man
convicted of sexually abusing 11 children he met online and who is now in
prison. "Not little, not fly and not a girl," he said.
Parents were also warned to look out for the warning signs, and to make sure
that the message is getting through.
James River High School student Maya Towers said: "I thought it was very
important because we post a lot of things on the internet. I didn't know how
much information can be exposed."
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Police to pass on email details to social networking sites 04 Apr 2008
Incident highlights importance of securing social networking sites 27 Mar 2008
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