Officials in North Carolina say MySpace has found more than 29,000 registered sex offenders with profiles on the popular social networking Web site, The Associated Press reports. The figure is more than four times the number cited by the company two months ago.
Authorities have been concerned that pedophiles have been able to use the site, which is wildly popular with young people, to try to lure victims into sexual activity or child pornography.
"We don't send our kids to play in a glass-strewn vacant lot and hope for the best, so why would we send them to such a dangerous place online?" said Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality at Focus on the Family Action. "The best protection for kids is for parents to be intimately involved in their online activities."
