A British government report has said children are not properly protected from paedophiles on the Internet.
Children as young as 13 are being approached by paedophiles on the web and could be in danger of being physically abused, it says.
The study urges a review of the law to tackle adults who win children's confidence by pretending to be teenagers in online chat rooms.
The report said one in five children had received unwanted sexual advances on the net.
It also called for more police resources to tackle the problem.
The report's authors are understood to have urged the British government to take "timely" steps to reform the law and make a number of proposals to Internet service providers to boost security.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We will be considering very carefully their recommendations on improving the safety of chat rooms, which include improving supervision and the introduction of a reporting system for users who feel they have received inappropriate approaches from someone else.
"We are looking forward to seeing how we can take its recommendations forward in partnership with the Internet industry, child protection groups and the police."
Home Office Minister Lord Bassam said potential abusers of children on the web could be dealt with by existing child abuse laws.
He said a government review of the situation is already in hand.
PA