This was taken from CNN.com 's Website .... just thought it was a lil intersting... its a snip from the full article go to http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/interne....ap/index.html to read the full story

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If they build domain, will kids come?
'No silver-bullet law will make Internet safe for children'

May 12, 2002 Posted: 8:46 AM EDT (1246 GMT)
If they build domain, will kids come?
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NEW YORK (AP) -- To keep youngsters away from porn and other online dangers, some child-safety advocates want to create a children's zone populated only by Web sites deemed safe.

Sites considered suitable for children under 13 would get Internet addresses ending in ".kids.us," and parents could set computer software to limit youngsters there.

But as legislation to do just that winds its way through Congress, major questions remain: How do you police this realm, and will anyone choose to populate it?

Bonus.com, for one, doesn't plan to participate despite the site's focus on kids. Its president, Andras Csaszar, thinks kids and parents are so accustomed to ".com" that any alternative would mean "zero traffic."

"The attention that Congress and other organizations give to wholesome content is a very positive thing but when legislation institutes things that people will have difficulties using, then it's no practical help," Csaszar said.

In a recent study on youth and online pornography, the National Research Council said such domains could block children from useful materials such as encyclopedias not written specifically for kids.

Past efforts at curbing pornography online have all been challenged by civil liberties groups, who say speech that is constitutionally protected could be inadvertently blocked. A three-judge federal panel in Philadelphia is currently reviewing a law requiring public libraries to use pornography-blocking software or lose federal technology grants.

To reduce free-speech objections, participation in the proposed kids zone would be voluntary -- unlike a Senate bill that would create just the opposite: a mandatory "red-light" domain such as ".prn" for porn sites.

"There hasn't been one silver-bullet law that's going to make the Internet safe for children overnight," said Donna Rice Hughes, an author and leading advocate of anti-porn laws. "Each attempt is going to get better and more refined."

Supporters compare the zone to a children's section in the library.

"Rather than handing to every child the list of (appropriate) books and their Dewey decimal numbers, the most useful thing is to simply put all those books in the kids section," said Colin Crowell, an aide to bill co-sponsor Rep. Edward Markey, Democrat-Massachusetts.