Online exposure

Studies cited by the ITU found that 44 percent of Chinese children online said they had been approached by a stranger, while in France 72 percent of children surf the web alone.

While the internet extends the horizons of knowledge and social relations for children, experts at the Telecom World 2009 show this month also highlighted their online exposure to pornography, or sites promoting violence, anorexia and bulimia.

"All our kids have this window," said Jasna Matic, Serbia's Minister for Telecommunications. "Alongside there are also a number of things that no kids should be exposed to."

A UN human rights expert on child exploitation, Najat M'jid Maala, recently estimated that about 750000 sexual "predators" were online seeking contact with children.

Available online in different forms for parents and educators, policy makers, the industry and children, the ITU's new guidelines advocate a mix of government regulation, education and technical filters to protect children.

But the more immediate focus is on parents and children, in an attempt to bring real world street sense and precautions online.

Make them understand

"You have to make children understand that what they see is often not what it seems to be," said Dieter Carstensen of campaign group Save the Children.

Official guidance for children and parents is catching on, but it is still piecemeal.

Specialist also complain that experience ? including voluntary industry ventures like Britain's Internet Watch Foundation ? is rarely shared across borders.

And if parents in highly connected nations might feel overwhelmed, those in places just awakening to the web are even less equipped to provide wisdom or recognise a threat.

"In some areas, especially rural areas, parents are not familiar with the technology, parents are not familiar with the English language," said Sharil, acting chairperson of Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Commission.

"So we have, on top of the content issue, literacy issues as well," he added.

Malaysia, as well as Serbia, are targeting parents and children through media and school campaigns, sometimes in the form of a crib sheet or a mouse pad that can be kept next to the computer.

But schools everywhere need to deepen their involvement, according to La Rose.

"Digital citizenship should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum from the day that a child goes to school," she said.

The ITU guidelines for children and parents can be found here.