A new pilot scheme which allows worried parents ask police if someone with significant access to their children is a convicted sex offender has been launched by the government.

The Home Office says it will make it possible for single mothers, for example,  to find out the background of a new boyfriend, or for worried parents to check out babysitters.

The measures do not go as far as ”Megan’s Law” in the United States that allows local communities to find out about convicted paedophiles living in their area, but Sara Payne, whose daughter Sarah was murdered by a predatory paedophile in 2000, has campaigned for such a law in Britain and said the new pilot scheme was a welcome start.  

However, probation officers and charities have warned that the disclosure could force some offenders to hide from police checks. They also voice concern that the scheme could simply be ineffective because parents would be unlikely to check on their partners while pointing out paedophiles carefully groom victims over long periods of time.

Is the scheme a good idea, or does it go too far or not far enough? Send us your comments.

Ofcom says millions of children who use social networking sites are exposing themselves to potential danger by leaving their privacy settings on “open,” thereby allowing all and sundry to peruse their personal details.

Its figures show a no less than a quarter of all children aged 8 to 11 in Britain, are registered with a social networking site.

It is the latest in a long series of warnings about Internet danger to children — which may suggest that either the children or their parents do not seem to care too much.

Do you think users are being too blasé, or are the dangers being exaggerated? Have you ever had any personal experience of the dangers Ofcom and others warn us about?