MSN launches updated child safety site
MSN today announced the re-launch of Websafecrackerz.com, its Internet safety site designed by teens for teens to help promote the importance of safe surfing. The site which went live in April 2004 and now attracts an average of 50,000 monthly users has been revamped to offer information on a greater range of issues and to give it more appeal for 14-16 year olds. Websafecrackerz (http://www.websafecrackerz.com/) was developed following research undertaken in conjunction with the Cyberspace Research unit and Childnet about the dangers to teens when online. The site covers every aspect of 'risk' associated with surfing the Internet and is very interactive, asking users to make decisions about what they’d do in different situations.
The updated site will have a more mature tone, with less fictional content and a greater focus on teens’ real-life experience and opinion. It features a new section focusing on mobile internet safety, identified as a growing area of risk for teens, and includes an e-zine which looks at personal safety online, technology issues and laws relating to the Internet.
Changes were made following extensive feedback from teens on their experiences of the site. MSN has continued to work closely with children’s charities and web safety experts (including the Cyberspace Research Unit, Childnet, NSPCC and Childline) to develop WebSafeCrackerz, and will be working with other Internet and Telecoms companies in the future to further expand the site.
Natalie Taylor, MSN’s Head of Image and Reputation commented; “WebSafeCrackerz has so far been really successful in providing teens with the information they need to stay safe online. The site was designed by teens and with this re-vamp we’ve taken on board their feedback to make it as useful and interesting as possible.
“At MSN we’re committed to making the Internet a safer place for younger users and education forms a huge part of this. With these updates, we’re confident the site will continue to educate teens on how to stay safe online so they can fully enjoy all the Internet has to offer.”
An IWF spokesperson said: “We are always pleased to see IWF member organisations like MSN, take such pro-active steps to provide tailored resources and information for young internet consumers.
The updates to the site reflect the need for ongoing research in order to establish the most effective methods of communication to this audience, around the constantly evolving topic of protection online.
The internet changes all the time and subsequently so do the risks. It is important that organisations providing internet services to consumers continue to recognise this and adapt online safety information & resources in accordingly. The UK leads the way on internet safety initiatives and projects like Webcrackerz demonstrate why.”
About MSN.co.uk
MSN is the UK’s largest portal attracting over 15.6 million visitors per month in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings December 2004) and more than 360 million unique users worldwide (MSN Internal Data). Owned by Microsoft, MSN is available in 40 markets and 20 languages.
MSN offers a wide range of Subscription products including Hotmail Plus and MSN Premium with state of the art parental controls, spam filtering software and photo editing tools.
MSN provides a number of world class innovative communication and information services including:
- MSN Hotmail, the UK's most popular free web-based e-mail service with over 7.8 million users in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings December 2004) and over 187 million active accounts worldwide (MSN Internal Data)
- MSN Messenger, the UK's number one instant messaging service on the internet with 8.8 million monthly users (Nielsen//NetRatings December 2004) and over 145 million active users worldwide (MSN Internal data)
- MSN Search, one of the UK’s top search sites with 5.2 million users. (Nielsen//NetRatings December 2004). MSN Search is available in 32 markets worldwide and 14 languages. MSN Toolbar is available in 47 markets with 53 million installed worldwide.
For further information please contact:
Liz Hayes Red Consultancy 020 7025 6573
Nicola Spear Red Consultancy 020 7025 6510
Created: Fri, March 4th, 2005 | Last Modified: Fri, June 10th, 2005
