Moldova.ORG -- MySpace said Tuesday it will begin sending online alerts to users in certain U.S. regions to help find missing children.

MySpace made a partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children to enable MySpace Amber alerts, a program between the media and law enforcement to issue early warning broadcast bulletins in serious child abduction cases.

Last week, the families of five teenage victims of sexual abuse by adult MySpace users sued the service for negligence in protecting its users.MySpace hired a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor last year to improve its online safety program.
The Amber alerts, named after 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996 in Texas, will appear in a small text box at the top of a profile, MySpace said. The alerts give MySpace users the option to get more information about the case, such as photos and information on suspects.

"We've been working with partners...and law enforcement to find any possible avenue we can take to protect our nation's children, keeping sex offenders off our site and providing technology that the entire industry can take advantage of," MySpace Chief Security Officer Hemanshu Nigam said in a phone interview.

As part of its safety program, MySpace now requires all new members to register with a valid e-mail address, which they say helps law enforcement track down potential predators. New applicants will receive a verification e-mail with a link requiring them to click back and verify their identity. All users also now have the option to make their profile private--once available only to 14- and 15-year-old members.

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