Keeping kids safe online.

• Position: TECHNOLOGY

No doubt you've visited Yahoo, Google and eBay, but have you been to MySpace? MySpace.com, ranked fifth among the most-visited English language Web sites, is a social networking site where 36 million users, mostly teens and young adults, write blog (online diary) entries, post profiles, make friends and communicate with each other. For most of these users, sites like MySpace are a safe enough place to 'hang out.' But several recent reports of attacks, sexual assaults and stalking young peopie through their MySpace profiles have raised alarms about the site.

Studies also have documented online dangers. A 2000 survey by the Crimes Against Children Resource Center at the University of New Hampshire found that about one in five youths received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the preceding year. In almost half the incidents, the young people did not tell anyone about it. A 2005 review of teen blogs by a Northwestern University researcher found that nearly 70 percent used their real names online and 61 percent gave out their contact information.

Lawmakers in at least 39 states in recent years have passed laws that specifically target predators who lure or solicit minors online for criminal purposes. Twenty-one states have laws requiring school boards or public libraries to adopt Internet use policies or install filters to...