Danger lurks in online gaming

Fears paedophiles are using sites to target children.

Paedophiles are targeting a new generation of online games aimed at children as young as eight, it’s being warned. Scores of “virtual world” websites have been set up for the soaring number of primary school pupils who access the internet every day.

They allow youngsters to customise their own characters, play games and interact with friends in chatrooms. Some even encourage children to befriend strangers and pair off with virtual boyfriends or girlfriends.

But campaigners have raised fears depraved predators are joining the sites to groom unsuspecting pre-teens for sex. They are now calling for the introduction of an age-rating system and a new regulator to monitor the games.

Their demands come after police admitted the internet is now creating predatory new paedophiles every day.

“These new kids games are a big problem,” said Kirsty Hopley of campaign group Child’s Eyes. “Chat rooms in kids’ games can attract the wrong type of people, so a game that parents think is OK for their child to play has risks.

“The game owners can make rules but there is no enforcement. I’d go as far as to say some of these games are dangerous.”

She added: “The messages some give to boys is that it is OK to treat a woman as objects and girls to have a great image and get a boyfriend. A regulatory body needs to be set up to test these sites and give them an independent rating, like PEGI for computer games.”

The Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) age rating system was established in 2003 to help parents make informed decisions when buying games. It gives an indication of the type of content found in a game and its suitability.

Most firms that are signed up are also part of a voluntary scheme for online games. However, there is no compulsion on games producers to join the scheme or monitor users on their sites.

Children’s charities have raised concerns about the lack of regulatory protection for online games. Claude Knights, of Kidscape, said: “Some games seem innocuous to parents. But there can be goings on they are not aware of. They can’t watch their children 24/7.

“The internet is growing so it is very important that regulation is introduced.”

But she added: “We need to ensure that the companies behind the games are keeping children safe and monitoring them in accordance to a set standard.”

Ms Knights also expressed concern that some games are being used as social networking platforms, leaving them open to exploitation by child groomers.

She said: “There should be a recommendation that games for children, say under 10, should not have chat rooms. For many children, the line between a friend in real life and a friend on the internet is blurred, so it puts them in a very vulnerable position.”

The Advertising Standards Agency has been contacted by worried parents. But a spokesman said it only has powers to regulate ads for the sites.

He added: “Wider concerns that parents or guardians may have about the actual content of a game or app aren’t covered by the Advertising Code.”

A recent study by internet security company McAfee found that just 11% of parents believe their children are safe online.

A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: “We are working to prevent children accessing potentially harmful material. As part of this, all broadband customers will be offered the chance to switch on family-friendly filters and parents will be abler to choose what type of material including online games should be filtered.”

A National Crime Agency spokesman said: “The NCA’s CEOP Command works with a range of partners, including internet service providers and websites, to ensure facilities are in place to keep children safe online. We also encourage them to report any suspicious activity to us.”

Parenting websites such as Mumsnet have been inundated with posts from mothers worried about online games. Among those to come under the spotlight is MovieStarPlanet, aimed at eight to 15-year-olds.

In this online world, children can choose from a variety of movie star characters, dress them up, make movies and play games.

It’s mainly focused on girls and users can chat with friends online.

One parent on Mumsnet complained: “My daughter, aged eight, had an account which I deleted. I don’t think it is very well moderated and some of the stuff is hugely age-inappropriate.”

Another parent said: “The whole game actively encourages boys and girls chasing each other. This site would be a pervert’s dream in my opinion and I can’t believe I was so stupid as to let my daughter play it.”

Our reporter joined MovieStarPlanet last week. On the surface, at least, it seemed perfectly childlike. But she was struck by the fact no date of birth or email address had to be given.

She was also shocked by the explicit conversations being held between users.In one a boy avatar asked a girl “to come to my home and have sex”.She also witnessed kids openly asking others to go out on a date.

The company behind MovieStarPlanet insists it does its utmost to ensure the game is safe. And there are clear rules about not giving away personal information and using inappropriate language.

Its head of safety, Vernon Jones, said the protection of all children who use the site is of “paramount concern”.

He added: “A dedicated team of moderators and community managers evaluate online content, implement safety measures and provide online support to parents and children.”

MovieStarPlanet is not the only online game to be accused of making children easy prey.

Last year, sex predators were found to be trawling Habbo Hotel a popular networking website for younger teenagers. It was revealed some players had used the site to try to lure children into performing pornographic acts on camera.

In September, community policeman Ashley Whitfield, 25, was jailed for three-and-a-half years after posing as a teenager on the site to befriend victims as young as 10.

The European Commission later threatened to shut down Habbo Hotel if it did not act to protect its users from predators. Other sites that have come in for criticism include Ask.fm, which has been linked to several teenage suicides.