Ref. 25753-31IT'S every parent's nightmare their child disappearing with a stranger they had met on the internet.

This week the national papers reported the cases of two teenage girls who went missing under these circumstances.

In the most prominent case, Shevaun Pennington was reunited with her parents in Wigan after disappearing for five days with former US marine 31-year-old Toby Studabaker.

Meanwhile, police in Hounslow appealed for help to find 14-year-old Jenna Bashir who had been missing for 11 days. They believed she was in the company of men she met on the internet

But cyberspace does not have to be a dangerous place, as Wootton Bassett School pupils found out .

Year 7 pupils turned detective for the day when they tried to solve an online mystery devised by the Childnet International charity.

The organisation co-ordinates the Net Detectives project that aims to prevent young chat-room users from falling into the hands of dangerous people.

Wootton Bassett School was one of six schools around the country to take part simultaneously in the exercise.

The students had to trace a fictional teenage girl called Tiffany who had gone missing after being in contact with somebody in a chat room.

They were emailed a succession of clues and the Net Detectives website linked them to participating teams in other schools around the country.

As the plot unfolded, participants had to communicate with each other and a team of experts to find the answers.

Cara Vickers, 12, explained: "We took part in the Net detective activity. It was where we had to solve a puzzle by playing the part of a teacher."

The exercise highlighted the dangers, but was not meant to put students off using the internet altogether.

Speaking about Shevaun Pennington, George Baker, 12, said: "I think she was a bit gullible to go off like that. I will never use a chat room because of how badly this thing has developed with this girl."

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, which provides advice for schools on ICT teaching, is assessing whether the Net Detectives project can be rolled out to other schools.

Steve Gillot, head of IT at the school, said: "The events reinforced the message. The children learnt a lot about safety and the exercise stimulated a lot of discussion. But it is easy to forget the benefits of the internet."

How parents can get SMART

PARENTS can educate their children about how to be safe on the Internet by following some simple steps.

The charity Childnet International has issued the following SMART tips:

S SAFE Staying safe involves being careful and not giving out your name, address, mobile number, school name or password.

M MEETING someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parents' permission, and then when they can be present.

A ACCEPTING e-mails or opening files from people you don't really know or trust can get you into trouble, they may contain viruses or nasty messages.

R -REMEMBER someone online may be lying. If you feel uncomfortable when chatting end the contact.

T TELL your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.

The charity recommends that parents spend time discussing these issues with their children and visit www.kidsmart.org.uk or call Childnet on 020 7639 6967.