If you are chatting to someone online who you have never met in the real world remember that their is no way to know if they really are who they say they are.

Sadly, some young people have met up with people they had met on the internet and have ended up being hurt. For real life stories visit www.chatdanger.com. So remember, even if you've been chatting to someone for a long time it's important to keep online friendships online.

There are lots of stories about how people have made real friends through the internet and this has obviously involved meeting up face to face after chatting online. However, it is important to remember that people may not be who they say they are and both young people and adults can be fooled into meeting someone who is not who they say they are. If you really want to meet up wiht an online friend always take a trusted adult with you for support and meet in a public place.

There are a number of excellent safe website resources which allow you to connect to others in a protected environment which is moderated. See for example www.gridclub.com.