Child Sex Victims Sue Myspace

The families of five abused teenagers in America are suing the social networking website MySpace, claiming that it did not do enough to protect their children.

They are seeking millions of dollars in damages after the teenagers were approached by sex offenders on the site and attacked. "Hopefully these lawsuits can spur MySpace into action and prevent this happening to another child somewhere," said Jason Itkin, a lawyer for the families. The suits, filed in a Los Angeles court, accuse MySpace and its parent company, News Corp - the media conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdoch - of negligence, fraud and misrepresentation.

One plaintiff is a 15-year-old from Texas whose attacker is now serving 10 years' jail. The others are aged 14 to 15, and include two sisters from South Carolina.

MySpace, which is now the world's biggest website, responded by saying that parents should monitor their children's internet use. "MySpace serves as an industry leader on internet safety and we take proactive measure to protect our members," said Hemanshu Nigam, the company's chief security officer.