Internet Protections for Children

[Caesar Princeps]

At first blush, Mattel's IM-Me text messenger for girls seems to represent just another attempt at placing adult technology in underage hands.

But the wireless texting device -- a CrackBerry for little princesses -- addresses an interesting challenge for the increasingly tech-heavy toy industry: How do you get kids on the internet but protect them from the perverts, pedophiles and phishers that give parents nightmares?

At the sprawling American International Toy Fair here at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, several companies are grappling with the problem.

IM-Me, which is marketed under Mattel's high-tech Radica brand, consists of a small, pink handheld device and an RF dongle that jacks into the USB port of a parental PC.

The system allows little girls to text-message one another while shielding them from the perils of the wider web: You can only chat with someone who's already been added to your address book, and then only if you're within dongle range.

"This is part of what I like to call 'safe online portalling,'" says Reyne Rice, the official trend forecaster for the Toy Industry Association, the trade group that runs the fair.

Similar parental security concerns underlie Fisher-Price's Easy-Link Internet Launchpad, a keyboard-free console for the 3-and-older crowd. When toddlers stick a figurine representing one of their favorite licensed characters (Elmo, Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train) into its appropriate console slot, they are whisked directly to the character's official website, where all the games are age-appropriate and there's nary a pornographic banner ad in sight.

Older kids can play it safe with Hasbro's Net Jet online gaming system, a USB game controller that is activated by inserting one of several different physical keys. Each key provides access to a different set of games in an online arcade, while restricting access to anything else.

Worried about old-fashioned security, the kind that involves actual home invaders? Erector's Spyke is a wireless surveillance bot that also functions as a media player and an internet phone.

Spyke features a built-in digital camera, microphone and speakers; flexible caterpillar treads; and a snazzy software interface that lets the clever bot function as an MP3 player and a VOIP phone. When in surveillance mode, it will sound an alarm on a distant laptop whenever it detects motion back home.

This is the article, but I find at least inappropriate for so young children to surf the net.