Surfers urged to behave online
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Internet users are being told to use real names in chat rooms.
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SINGAPORE (AP) -- Having purged the country of chewing gum and introduced fines for not flushing toilets, Singapore said its latest task force will teach people how to behave on the Internet.
The Cyber Wellness Task Force will urge people not to send unsolicited e-mails or spam, not to view pornographic Web sites and to use their real name, not a pseudonym, in chat rooms, said Michael Yap, chairman of the task force.
The group's recommendations will not be enforceable by law. It will make its case through a media campaign, public workshops and special Web sites aimed at parents and children, said Bernard Tan, head of the government's National Internet Advisory Committee.
"If we don't make an effort it would be tragic," Tan said Tuesday.
"Young people have problems distinguishing between the real and the virtual world. Kids are already surfing the Net in kindergarten," said Tan.
The Southeast Asian city-state of 4 million people organizes numerous campaigns each year -- encouraging people to do things like smile, wave to fellow road users, flush public toilets and turn their mobile phones off during movies.
A campaign last month, which coincided with Valentine's Day, told people how to act on a date.
Singapore is becoming increasingly dependent on information technology with most government services online and more than half the population navigating the web.
Yap said in the committee's report that his task force aims to "create a cyber culture that is in harmony with our national ethos."
Critics have said Singapore's numerous campaigns are Orwellian and condescending toward citizens.
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