The ambassadors' advice will be used in a national campaign in May 2006.  Their recommendations echo the message of teachers and parents, but they are given more weight coming from the children themselves.

They include a warning to protect personal details such as full name and address in chatrooms, and a reminder that there is no guarantee that anyone there is who they claim.

The ambassadors add, "There is nothing wrong with using a nickname or being someone else, as long as your intentions are good."  

Children and young people should disguise their personal information, and with that intention in mind, feel free play with their identity online as much as they want. But they also need to be aware of what signals such an identity sends, and the fact that good intentions might not always shine through.

In a little test conducted by the Media Council for Children and Young People in Denmark, a fake profile was shown to 7th grade students for five seconds, a typical amount of time to spend on a web page.  The profile showed a girl in her underwear but a text about a book club.  Predictably almost nobody noticed the text.  They just saw a 'porn girl' out for trouble.

This exercise showed how easily we judge and get judged, how signals from a picture can totally overshadow the intention of the sender, and how important constant information and reflections on practical experience are.

The ten pieces of advice will be launched on 2 May, when the Media Council for Children and Young People participate in a national event for safety on the internet, “Netsafe Now!”
On the same day, the Media Council for Children and Young People will also release a DVD with inspiration and information to teachers.