The Ontario government launched a software program that will educate Grade 7 and 8 students about the perils of Internet predators and child pornographers.

"Sending our kids onto the Internet without cyber-proofing is like sending them down a dark alley alone at night in the big city. Danger lurks," Attorney General Michael Bryant said at Friday's press conference.

CYBERCOPS provides scenarios based on real-life incidents to help students recognize tricks predators use to lure unsuspecting victims, Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter and Bryant said Friday.

When police showed Kwinter how easy it was to find personal information on a young girl in his family, he was appalled, CFTO's Paul Bliss reported.

"It turned out to be my granddaughter and they told me that I visibly blanched when they asked me if I knew her," Kwinter said.

"It turned out that she had done nothing wrong other than, on her website, providing far too much info about herself," he said.

Adult predators use this type of information to pretend they are also young Internet surfers with similar interests, Kwinter said.

The software will be available in Ontario classrooms in the fall.

The launch is part of a broader provincial mandate to fight Internet crimes against children.

In 2004, the province's Liberal government announced an injection of $5 million toward the fight against Internet predators and child pornography.

The content of the interactive software program was developed in part by the Ontario Provincial Police's Investigation Bureau.

"Teaching children how to protect themselves is the most effective way society has of stopping youngsters from being lured over the Internet," Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Gwen Boniface said in a statement.

"This program allows children to learn how to avoid predators, and is a significant step toward empowering our kids to make the right choices to avoid victimization. The program also allows them to learn the protection techniques in a safe environment."

According to a 2001 Environics study on behalf of the Media Awareness Network, 25 per cent of young Canadians have been asked by someone they met on the Internet to meet face-to-face.

Fifteen per cent also said they had met in person, at least once, with someone they first met online.

With files from CFTO's Paul Bliss