The Internet can be a very useful and resourceful learning tool. Information on just about any subject imaginable can be found with a few clicks of a mouse. The "Net" or "Web" also provides a place for friends, relatives and strangers to interact. But can you really be sure the people you are communicating with are who they claim to be.

Recently, police began a search for a missing 16-year-old girl who police believe was picked up by a convicted sex offender from New Jersey she met on the Internet.

The Internet, though, a place where information can be found and a tool by which to keep in touch with friends and relatives can also be a haven for predators who wish to keep their anonymity until a meeting can be arranged.

Attorney Parry Aftab, one of the leading experts worldwide on cybercrime, Internet privacy and cyber-abuse issues and the author of the book, The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace, said the Internet can be a great place for predators to meet kids because they can do so with a child's parents watching.

Online, an adult can pretend to be anything he or she chooses to be - even another child - in an effort to strike up a relationship with a child behind the disguise of a computer screen.

Aftab said a survey done in 1999 of 10,800 teen girls between the ages of 13 and 16 revealed that 12 percent were meeting strangers in real life that they had first met online.

"The kids who are doing this are the ones in Nassau County. They're the ones is the New Jersey suburbs. They're the ones in Suffolk County. It's the ones in Westchester County. It is the kids in comfortable suburban households that are not used to being victimized," Aftab said.

Sexual predators on the Internet often mask their identities, although Aftab said often they use their real name. According to Aftab, one man who was put in jail used his real name as he pretended to be a 16-year-old when actually he was a 37-year-old child molester.

Parents for Megan's Law, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of childhood sexual abuse through the provision of education, advocacy, counseling, policy and legislative support services, founder and director Laura Ahearn has identified tricks used by sexual predators, one of which is the Internet.

According to Ahearn, the Internet has become a preying ground for sex offenders trying to lure victims. Offenders will try to get specific information from your child without directly asking for it. For example they may ask if your child plays on sports teams which would eventually lead to a discussion of where your child played these games. Ultimately, they want to try to set up a meeting.

School districts such as the Mineola School District have established Internet use policies that allow for safety. The Mineola School District's Internet safety policy states that the district's computer network coordinator shall be responsible for monitoring to ensure that the online activities of staff and students are consistent with the district's Internet Safety Policy. Students may use the district's computer network to access the Internet only during supervised class time, study periods or at the school library and exclusively for research related to course work.

Most of the predators want children using the Internet at home, according to Aftab, because the predators want children in front of their computers for an extended period of time. Instant messages, which, as opposed to emails, are messages that pop up on the screen giving the sender and receiver an instant conversation, are almost always involved in luring incidents, according to Aftab.

Aftab suggests parents talk to their children about predators and how they lure children. "If you teach them the tricks, they won't be able to play tricks on the kids," she said.

According to Aftab, the classic ages for kids to be lured by predators are 12 to 15 and those who are lured tend to be loners. Kids should also be told not to share personal information on the Internet. "What we have to do is teach the parents how it works. Don't share any personal information with somebody you met on the Internet that you wouldn't share with a stranger. Don't wander around the Internet without a reason. All these common sense things that our grandparents knew apply just as well online," she said. "If parents remember that the Internet is [like] the telephone and not [like] the television, they'll already need to know what they need to know."

The Nassau County District Attorney's Office has also set up tips for protecting children on the Internet. It can be accessed at www.nassauda.org. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the link "Keeping Your Children Safe on the Internet."