THE Internet is a marvellous tool and it is now quite difficult to think how we could manage many tasks without it. Indeed, I sent this piece into the newspaper via the Internet - having written it in Middlesbrough and then transmitted it to Darlington via email.

As a lawyer and lecturer, I am accustomed to having to undertake substantial research. Once upon a time this would mean spending vast amounts of time in a library reading dusty books. Now, however, I simply switch on my computer and, thanks to the Internet, I can access material from anywhere in the world.

The Internet is fun too. While it is of great benefit to industry and business, it is also wonderful for social activities. We can go onto the Internet to look for holidays, presents, cars - even houses. Teenagers can access the latest gossip about a pop idol and anyone can look up books, etc. However we are also now accustomed to understanding that the Internet has a dark side too.

In this piece I hope to show that while there are dangers to the Internet, they are dangers that, once recognised, can be addressed and life on the Internet can continue.

When we think of dangers to children via the Internet then the perils can be divided into two main categories: child pornography and the grooming of children on the Internet.

The menace of child pornography is reasonably well documented. Every day we read stories in our newspapers about the latest raids on people who hoard child pornography. The latest global operation bears the codename Operation Ore and reports state that over 7,500 people are to be targeted as part of this action, including numerous police officers and people working with children.

Under English law, being in possession of child pornography attracts a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, and when child pornography is made, or created, the penalty rises to ten years. The law states that when images are downloaded from the Internet this is making child pornography, and thus comes within the higher penalty, although in practice it is likely to be treated as possession.

There has been some concern as to whether courts have treated the possession and distribution of child pornography seriously enough. The North-East has not escaped this criticism and some sentences handed down by the courts in the region have been low. However, the Court of Appeal responded to this by referring the matter to a body known as the Sentencing Advisory Panel, which has a remit to recommend sentences for particular offences.

The Sentencing Advisory Panel reported earlier this year and their recommendation should lead to an increase in sentences. The Panel believes that any distribution should automatically attract a custodial sentence, as would possession of images of relatively serious types of child pornography. If this is fully implemented then the courts should adopt a stricter line on such offences, which would send a message to those who peddle such terrible images.

It is not particularly easy to just come across child pornography but one unpleasant phenomenon which some experience is the use of "spam mail". Spam mail is when a company sends out junk mail to whole batches of email addresses. Many of these spams contain pornographic images and some may contain child pornography. At the end of the message it will normally tell you how to unsubscribe to this service or stop future images. It is important to note that the worst thing you can do is to respond to these messages.

Spam is sent to every possible email address and companies do not know whether an address is live or not. If you respond to the messages then this indicates to the company that your address is live and thus, instead of getting fewer messages, you would get more.

If you are sent child pornography then you should report it to the local police or forward it to an organisation known as the Internet Watch Foundation (www.iwf.co.uk), which was established as a partnership between the Internet industry and the police. By contacting either organisation you help to fight child pornography and hopefully end this terrible trade.

The second danger that the Internet poses to children is more direct. It is the problem of paedophiles who use the Internet to befriend children in order to abuse them. It is difficult to know whether this is a growing danger because, like all incidents of child abuse, it is almost certainly under-reported. However, we know that more cases are being detected and reported and, in the last couple of years, it has perhaps risen to one or two a month.

It is not surprising that this type of crime should occur. The Internet can be thought of as a community and, indeed, that is exactly what it is. People go to shops on the Internet, schools on the Internet and talk to each other on it. We realise, however, that in towns children are not safe to talk to strangers in the street so why should it be any different on the Internet?

At present there is no specific law that can be used to tackle this behaviour. If sexual activity takes place as a result of the meeting on the Internet, then the laws governing improper sexual relations apply, but not before then. In March 2000 the then Home Secretary created the Internet Task Force on Child Protection and I was invited to sit on this body. The group was tasked at reviewing the law relating to child protection and this week the Government announced new legislation to tackle such behaviour.

However, legislation is only one tool and we should not wait until a paedophile meets a child before doing something about it. The key to this whole area is education and protection. It is important for teenagers to realise that talking to people on the Internet is no different to talking to strangers on the street, you do not know who you are talking to and someone could easily pretend to be of any age, sex or occupation.

Teenagers should never give out personal information such as an address, telephone number (including a mobile number - these can be easily traced) or even a postcode (which Internet pages will turn into an address). "Stranger danger" is an old message but one that is effective and works. Importantly, it is as applicable on-line as it is off-line.

There are a number of resources to help parents and teenagers. Two excellent sites that provide useful advice on this area are www.bkfko.net which is aimed primarily at pre-teens and www.childnet-int.org which is aimed at teenagers, parents, carers and teachers. They are valuable resources and should provide lots of tips and information for those who want to know more about this area.

* Alisdair A Gillespie is a senior lecturer at the University of Teesside and a member of the Home Office Internet Task Force on Child Protection