AP: "AOL launches safety buddy for kids"

"America Online is launching a new Internet-safety campaign for kids built around an automated instant-messaging "buddy" that dispenses advice in real time.

Kids can add "AOLSafetyBot" to their buddy lists of friends on AOL Instant Messenger. It's programmed to answer, within seconds, such questions as whether kids should agree to physical meetings with online acquaintances or reveal such personal information as their address and age.

The SafetyBot campaign, being launched today, also includes a Web site at AOL's SafetyClicks.com, where kids can play a trivia game and watch a video featuring characters from the Cartoon Network, a unit of AOL Time Warner."