A new web-based initiative has been launched by the Virtual Global Taskforce to make the internet a safer place for children and a more hostile place for paedophiles.

The Virtual Global Taskforce is a UK initiative and brings together the National Crime Squad, the Australian High Tech Crime Centre, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the US Department of Homeland Security and Interpol to fight online child abuse and make the internet a safer place.

Launched in January, the Taskforce's website - www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com - marshals education and law enforcement resources from around the world and provides a range of relevant information, advice and support. This includes information for the public on what to do if they suspect that a child is at risk, if they see content on the internet that they believe might be illegal or if they want to report suspicious behaviour online.

The Virtual Global Taskforce website is being promoted across the online environment. This means, for example, that if a child is in an AOL Chat Room, entering MSN to access their hotmail or MSN Messenger accounts, online with BT or surfing the Internet using a Vodafone phone, they will see the Taskforce logo prominently displayed. And by simply clicking on the logo, they will be taken straight to the website.

The ultimate aim is to deliver a reassuring, online law enforcement presence. Nothing covert or intrusive but simply a place where adults and children can go for information, advice and support.

The website also sends out a clear message to those who use the Internet to search for and share images of child abuse, or who go online to approach children with a view to "grooming" them for sexual abuse, that law enforcement is active online. The Internet is no longer an anonymous place and those who commit crimes online will be held to account for their actions.

Questions

Q. What is the Virtual Global Taskforce ?

A. The Taskforce is an alliance of international law enforcement agencies working together to make the Internet a safer place for children.

Q. What agencies make up the Taskforce ?

A. The Taskforce comprises the National Crime Squad, the Australian High Tech Crime Centre, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the US Department of Homeland Security and Interpol. Jim Gamble, Deputy Director General of the National Crime, is the current Chair of the Taskforce.

Q What are its aims ?

A. The mission of the Virtual Global Taskforce is to make the Internet a safer place, to identify, locate and help children at risk, and to hold perpetrators appropriately to account.

Q. What does it do ?

A. The Taskforce delivers a range of crime prevention and crime reduction initiatives to prevent and deter paedophiles from committing online child abuse.

Q. What is online child abuse ?

A. Online child abuse includes searching for, sharing and downloading images of children being physically and sexually abused and approaching children online with the intention of developing a sexual relationship in the "real" world (so-called "grooming"). Such approaches can involve the assumption of a false identity, in particular the pretence of being a child, although this is not always the case. Other forms of online child abuse include children being sent indecent or obscene images, being asked to send indecent images of themselves or their friends, being engaged in sexually explicit talk and being encouraged to perform sexually explicit acts on themselves or their friends (so-called "cybersex").

Q. Is there a VGT website?

A. The website can be accessed at www.virtualglobaltaskforce.com

Q. What's on the website ?

A. The website aims to delivers a reassuring, online, law enforcement presence. It is a place where adults and children can go for information, advice and support. This includes information on how to report crime, advice on how to stay safe and support for victims and potential victims of abuse. The website also sends a clear message to paedophiles that the Internet is no longer an anonymous place and that those who go online to prey on children will be caught and held to account.

Q. Can you report crime via the Taskforce website ?

A. The site contains information for members of the public on what to do if they fear that a child is at risk or if they see content on the Internet which they believe is illegal. The site also provides a mechanism for adults and children to report suspicious activity or behaviour online, for example in a chat room, directly to law enforcement.