Just as high school kids in the 50’s sought each other out at local burger joints, kids in this generation gather together in cyberspace.

"Instant messaging," chat rooms and web sites like Myspace.com are popular communicating devices a growing number of kids gravitate towards; they can chose their own friends, post messages, link to one another and even look for new friends.

"We became aware that a large number of local kids are using Myspace.com, posting extensive personal information about themselves," says Gulf Breeze Police Chief Peter Paulding. "Many of the kids who find themselves on the Myspace.com web sit have not posted a site themselves, but are unknowingly posted with a photo on someone else’s site. The linked sites make them more vulnerable as well. Even if they are careful not to include revealing personal details, their friend on the linked site may do so, leaving them vulnerable.

"There is absolutely no criminal offense here, we just want to let parents know that we have grave concerns that these youngsters are giving up their anonymity on the internet. And they feel safe doing so."

A study by the Crimes Against Children Research Center several years ago indicated that at least 24 million children between the ages of 10 and 17 use the internet regularly. One out of every five of these children received a sexual solicitation, one in every four received unwanted pictures of naked people or people having sex, one in every 17 was threatened or harassed and one in every 33 received an aggressive sexual solicitation asking the recipient to meet, phone or accept gifts.

Myspace.com is not a locals-only web page, there are postings from around the world. A search under the

name "Heather" revealed pages of links, many from overseas, and no permission was needed to grant access to the innumerable Heathers who popped up, each accompanied by a photograph and mention of sexual orientation, age, religion and hometown.

"Parents have to know the internet is the wild west of this century -it is unregulated and uncontrolled. It is the current growth industry of crime, criminal schemes," warns Paulding. "It’s where all the fraud is occurring and where predators go to find their victims."

There is a growing number of preteens and teens who surf the internet and use chat rooms such as Myspace.com, and predators are known to use the internet to find and lure victims. The Center for Missing and Exploited Children urges parents to safeguard children while using the Internet, and advises that the best way to protect children is to supervise them while they are online. The Center encourages families to ensure that their children are visiting appropriate sites and safely using chatrooms by sitting at the computer with them. But, because this is not always possible, families should strongly consider using resources such as parental controls like "filtering" or "blocking" software, according to the center.

It is easy for kids to use MySpace.com and joining is free. Participants are encouraged to create a custom profile, upload pictures, send mail and IMs and write Blogs and comments. After the web page is posted, the message "Invite your friends. Let the party begin!" comes up. "By building your personal network, you can start expanding your circle of friends exponentially," the page encourages participants to include more and more "friends" without any precautionary information about personal protection. Step 5 encourages "Contact your friends or make new friends. Email any user. If you find a person you wish to communicate with, use our messaging system for instant contact. Your email and personal information will always be protected." All communication is anonymous, unfiltered and immediate.

Can My Space.com be a bait for predators? "We do not know for a fact that local predators have used the system, we do know that we found girls we know are as young as 14 who are passing themselves off as 18 or 19. Many have photos of themselves and their friends, of which their friends may not even be aware. These girls may be approached by others who believe they are the age they posted, and that is dangerous for all parties," summarizes Paulding. "Users may be at risk."

Paulding encourages all parents to check it out for themselves. "If you don’t know what your kid is up to, ask a friend of your kid. They’ll tell you."

Attorney General Charlie Crist established a dedicated CyberCrime Unit this fall in order to focus on the growing problem of crimes committed via the internet.

The CyberCrime Unit's mission statement directs it to protect children from computerfacilitated sexual exploitation by working cooperatively on a statewide basis with law enforcement and prosecution agencies to provide resources and expertise, while preventing the spread of these crimes through education and community awareness.The creation of the CyberCrime Unit is one of several important initiatives taken by the Attorney General's Office to protect Florida's children. Other initiatives – all of which are available through the Attorney General's home page (http://myfloridalegal. com) – include a site specifically dedicated to child safety. The Child Safety site includes a Sex Offender Search website, which allows parents to locate registered sex offenders living within a five-mile radius of any Florida address; the SafeSteps brochure, a parents guide to online safety, child abduction and runaway issues, and the NetSmartz program, an interactive educational resource that teaches children how to stay safer on the Internet.