Parents band together to curb Internet dangers

CONCERNED parents in tech-savvy Singapore are banding together to curb the harmful effects of Internet surfing on their children.

The formation of the Parents Advisory Group for the Internet, or PAGI, was announced Saturday by David Lim, minister of state for defense and information and the arts.

The grouping comes amid growing concern over Internet usage in Singapore, where more than half of homes here have personal computers, and a high percentage have access to the world wide web.

"PAGI will work together with the Internet industry and government agencies to promote safe surfing and educate fellow parents about online safety," and help parents overcome their dread of computers, Lim said at a national seminar for parents on how to raise kids in an online world.

Ninety percent of 200 parents surveyed here recently agreed that children should be supervised when using the Internet, he said.

The Singapore police, in its latest crime report a few months ago sounded the alarm on an emergence of rape cases involving young girls who met their rapists through Internet chat rooms.

Lim said the government would be on the lookout for other "practical measures" to regulate the dangerous websites and chatrooms on the Internet, such as labeling websites, and providing services such as software to filter offensive sites.

However, he emphasized the importance of the web to children's education, as Singapore pursues its drive to be a hub for information technology and called on parents to take an active role in their computer activities.