SOUTHLAKE, TX Parents should educate themselves about social networking sites like MySpace.com to better protect their children, according to youth ethics speaker Chuck Gallagher.

"Parents need to be aware of what social networking is to begin to comprehend how to protect their children," Gallagher, 50, motivational speaker and founder of the Choices Foundation in Southlake, Texas said. "It is easy for kids to fall prey to (online) fraud, and hard for parents to monitor."

The non-profit foundation educates young people on the importance of ethics and the consequences of bad choices to make more productive adults in business, according to the foundation's Internet site.

In a Jan. 18 press release, Gallagher saluted MySpace.com for reaching an agreement with the attorneys general of 49 states earlier this month to better protect young adults from online predators and fraud.

MySpace is the most popular social networking site with millions of members worldwide, according to the site. Facebook is another popular site that allows members to share pictures, videos, journal entries and music.

According to the agreement, MySpace will develop policies allowing parents to submit their children's email addresses so MySpace can prevent anyone using those addresses from setting up profiles, making the default setting "private" for profiles of 16- and 17-year-olds, promising to respond within 72 hours to inappropriate content complaints and committing more staff and/or resources to review and classify photographs and discussion groups.

"This agreement is a promising step toward an industry gold standard for social networking safety," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a Jan. 14 release announcing the agreement. "This agreement reflects my longstanding, deeply held belief that the industry must aim higher to keep kids safer. I urge otherssocial networking sites, technology companies, nonprofitsto support these principles and join the task force."

Prior to the changes, such sites created a "perfect storm" for sexual predators and others engaged in online fraud to prey on users, Gallagher said.

The three components perpetrators use to commit offenses consist of a need, opportunity and a rationalization for committing the act, Gallagher said.

"MySpace is working to eliminate the opportunity," Gallagher said.

In order to better prepare children to cope with Internet safety, Gallagher suggests parents come out of their comfort

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