WILTSHIRE police have joined forces with the county council and Swindon Borough Council in a campaign to protect youngsters from Internet perverts bent on grooming them for sex.

Who's Web Wise is a scheme to make sure that young people appreciate the importance of staying safe when logged on to Internet chat rooms.

The countywide campaign has been developed following research from Tomorrow's Voice, a young citizen questionnaire co-ordinated by Wiltshire's youth development service.

More than 2,300 11 to 18 year olds responded to the questionnaire and the results showed that:

l Some 80 per cent of young people use the Net one or twice a week, the majority accessing it from home or school;

l Seven per cent of young people had agreed to meet up with someone they had met through a chat room without checking with their parents first;

l Some 11 per cent had been made to feel uncomfortable by "chats" they had had with someone in a chat room;

The campaign will run throughout June and will encourage young people to log on to www.wiltshire.police.uk to complete an on-line quiz, which offers prizes of a personal computer for the two winners and for their schools.

The campaign promotes a six-point plan to staying safe in chat rooms.

Young people are warned not to give out any personal details that could be used to identify them.

They are told never to take anyone they contact in chat rooms at face value and never to arrange to meet someone without first telling an adult and getting their permission.

Youngsters are urged to always stay in the public areas of a chat room where there are other people around; and never to open an attachment unless they know and trust the person who sent it. Finally, youngsters should never respond to anything they find disturbing, but save it or print it, log off and tell an adult.