THE death of Imogen D'Arcy, a bright, pretty and popular teenager from Leeds has sent shockwaves through parents across Britain.
The 13-year-old was found by her father with a computer cord around her neck after visiting internet suicide sites.
So how can parents protect their children from the perils of cyberspace?
Steve Carrick-Davies is chief executive of Childnet International, a non-profit organisation working with others to help make the internet a 'great and safe place for children'.
He described the circumstances surrounding Imogen's death as "shocking and sad".
"A case like this illustrates the extent of the content available now for children as young as eight or nine, as soon as they are using the internet.
"We don't want to demonise this technology, there are some wonderful things out there on the internet.
"It can be such a positive resource, one that allows kids to be creative, entertained and communicate with other people.
"We want children to be given that opportunity to express themselves, but there is a very real threat out there for children to come across inappropriate content.
"Not just pornographic content but content that can damage children at a tender age when they are looking for an identity and searching for advice on a whole range of issues."
Mr Carrick-Davies said it was vital that parents took an interest in their child's internet activity.
"I would urge every parent to get involved with their kids and what they do online.
"Sometimes it's impossible to supervise your child whenever they go on to the internet but the first thing to do is to bring the computer out of their bedroom.
"Parents also need to talk to their kids about the type of websites they are visiting. Clicking on their internet browser history is a good way of monitoring what they're looking at but that's easy to wipe.
"If your child has wiped their history ask them what it was they didn't want you to see.
"At the end of the day, it is you who is paying for the internet access and you who has the final say over who can use it and when."
"No parenting is easy, I have children and it can be stressful. But it's vital to open that dialogue with them."
A recent study carried out across the European Union found that nearly one in five parents think their child has encountered harmful or illegal content on the internet.
Around 50 per cent of parents say filtering or blocking tools are in place when their child goes online.
However, the survey also found that rules governing their child's use of the internet are set by fewer UK parents than the EU average.
Another issue posing a danger to children when they go online is that of cyber bullying.
National charity Bullying Online, set up by Harrogate mum Liz Carnell, was the first organisation to address this trend and has closed down a number of abusive websites and internet forums.
She says it started with kids getting silent calls on their mobile phones and then moved on to abusive text messages and emails.
Now people are setting up websites where they can upload pictures of people and abuse about them.
"It's usually carried out along with other bullying, which often takes place at school," said Liz.
"The victims are most likely to be girls aged 13 to 16 and the ones doing the bullying are usually former friends.
"A lot of the time the things being put on these sites are secrets that were told in happier times."
Bullying
The rise in popularity of internet message boards and so-called 'social websites' such as MySpace and YouTube has only compounded the problem.
MySpace is a social networking website but bullies have used it to target their victims.
Concern has led schools and libraries in Britain and the US to restrict access to the site.
Patrick Kirk, head of e-learning services for Leeds City Council, said schools in the city took the issue of harmful internet content extremely seriously.
"There is a lot of filtering in place in the school environment in terms of which sites students can access.
"But it's also about helping children to be more discriminating and teaching them to be their own censors because when they go outside our safe environment they might go home and have unfiltered and unsupervised internet access in their bedrooms."
He said work was also being done with parents and teachers to alert them to the dangers of the internet.
"It's a balancing act. It's important to make children aware of the risks but you don't want to scare them so much that they don't take advantage of the opportunities the internet can offer."
Talk to your child about the sites they visit when they go online

Top tips on safety

l Agree a set of rules about using the internet that the whole family follows and keep them by the computer

l Regularly check the 'history' section of your computer to monitor which sites your child is visiting

l Restrict your child's online activity to moderated chatrooms suitable for their age

l Encourage your child to introduce you to their online friends

l Never allow kids to give out personal details such as telephone numbers or email, school or home address

l Sign up for a chatroom to learn how they work and get to grips with instant messenger software

l Visit www.getnetwise.org for a list of filtering software that will help you control which sites your child can visit on the internet