Paedophiles could be banned from using social network sites under new measures introduced by the Government.

Registered sex offenders will be monitored online and police will be able to pass on their e-mail addresses to social network sites such as Facebook or Bebo.

It is one of a range of measures introduced by the Home Office taskforce on online child protection.

There are fears that paedophiles are masquerading as young people on the popular sites and 'grooming' future victims.

The guidance, developed alongside mobile phone operators, children's charities, and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), provides advice for children, parents and industry on staying safe online.

It urges users to restrict who can see the personal details and pictures they share.

Default settings on many of the social networking sites leave users' personal details open for public viewing, but the guidelines encourage children to be more careful about the information they provide and to make sure their privacy is tight.

If they do encounter problems, they should be able to report them more easily.

Websites will be asked to display clear links to children's charities and the police for users to register concerns immediately.

Software to protect children online will now also be able to gain a Kitemark to ensure standards of security are as high as possible.

The NSPCC's Diana Sutton said:

"Many sex offenders will go to extraordinary lengths to access children, and we need to ensure that safety measures in cyberspace are as stringent as they are in the wider world."

But Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at computer security firm Sophos, told Sky News the measures were potentially dangerous.

"If the police give these e-mail addresses to the sites, how well are they going to look after the information?

"If it is leaked out either accidentally or through an employee someone might pursue these people and they could be misidentified.

"It is not possible to monitor things online without it being incredibly costly and resource hungry and we have to consider that you can access the internet from mobile phones as well.

"This makes a good headline, but the fact is a sex offender could just create a different e-mail address in two seconds." he said.

Source: Sky News