Ref. 27191-12SEVEN per cent of young internet chat room users have agreed to meet face to face with people they chatted to online, according to police research.

In a survey of more than 2,000 11 to 18-year-olds, 11 per cent had been made to feel uncomfortable by chats they had had with someone in a chat room.

Now, Wiltshire Police has launched a new scheme called Web Wise to encourage young web users to stay safe.

It has been developed following the survey, which was carried out by the force and Wiltshire County Council Youth Develop-ment Service.

The scheme is also supported by Swindon Council and will run in schools throughout 2004.

In a series of posters and fact files, the scheme will ask young users to log on to the Wiltshire Police website to complete an online quiz that aims to be both educational and informative.

Sgt Roger Bull, from Wilt-shire Police community department said: "The inter- net can be fun and educational but it also allows the young access into an insecure world of cyber space where they can communicate with strangers who may project a false image of themselves."

Jim Wiltshire, Crime and Disorder Development Officer at Swindon Council, said: "We are delighted to be involved in such a worthwhile campaign and hope that young people will appreciate the need to stay web wise."

Internet safety hit the headlines in March when Swindon man Paul Jones was jailed after admitting charges of abduction and indecent assault against a 14-year-old girl he had befriended in a chat room.

Jones "groomed" his victim before assaulting her in Savernake Forest, near Marlborough.

Following the case, the force and Wiltshire County Council investigated ways to encourage the safe use of chat rooms. Web Wise is the result.

Anybody aged 11 to 18 can taer the Web Wise test at www.wiltshire.police.uk before June 30.

Six tips on how to be web wise

Wiltshire Police's Sgt Roger Bull says the Web Wise campaign promotes six ways in which youngsters can protect themselves and stay safe while in chat rooms.

He said: "People who prey on people over the internet are evil. We believe that by following our-six point plan we can can help people stay safe on the internet."

The six points are:

Don't give out personal details such as your name, age, photograph or any other information that could identify you, including family information, your address or the school you attend.

Don't take other people at face value they may not be who they seem.

Never arrange to meet someone you've "met" only on the internet without telling an adult and getting their permission. The first meeting place should be in a public place and you should always take a responsible adult with you.

Always stay in the public areas of the chat room, where there are other people around.

Don't open an attachment or download files unless you know and trust the person who has sent them.

Never respond directly to anything you find disturbing save it, print it, log off and tell an adult.

Anthony Osborne