SYDNEY, Australia -- In an effort to safeguard a population of Australian children immersed in an unregulated internet society, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a new education program to combat cyber-bullying.

The online safety lessons to be rolled out nationally this year will focus on younger children aiming to provide guidance and assist in the promotion of responsible behavior that lowers the risk of online attacks.

With over 90 percent of Australian high school students now using a Facebook account, the new education policy will be instituted across more than 3,000 schools aiming at how to teach young Australians to be "safe and respectful digital citizens".

Speaking at the program's launch in Sydney, Gillard said Australian parents, teachers and schools are concerned about the dangers of cyber-bullying, predatory behavior and children accessing age-inappropriate content.

"They worry too about the predators, the adults who are there, using the internet for their purposes. Pretending perhaps to be children, asking to meet children in the real world," she said.

The Prime Minister said that while the internet delivers profound benefits, it also presents dangers.

Facebook, networking games, smart phones and iPads are all part of the typical daily life of today's children.

For many Australians with a sense of estrangement from their children's complex online social lives, there is now a new area of responsibility for parents, many of whom feel ill-equipped to respond to a world they know little of.

"And I would have to say I was a little bit startled by how many children (have) gone and met someone in the real world that they had first met online and didn't know any other way," she said.

According to a Nielsen Australian Multi-Screen Report, an estimated 48 percent of Australians aged above 16 years own a smartphone with Australia now boasting the second highest smartphone usage by population density, second only to Singapore.

Over 65 percent of Australian internet users use social media sites and according to the AIMIA Yellow Social Media Report, an astonishing 97 percent of those using social media sites use Facebook.

The opportunities presented by the online world must be managed with security and responsibility from parents, teachers and lawmakers.

"With all of those opportunities, there are actually new risks as well and we need to face up to those new risks," the Prime Minister said.

"And we don't need to draw too many word pictures for all of us to intuitively understand all of the risks that can come with that happening. So there are dangers out there."

The new education scheme offers advice and looks to provide a positive influence for young people who may often face online aggression, anti-social behavior or bullying. There will be interactive sessions including videos and discussions developed by Life Education Australia and the online security company McAfee.

As part of an ongoing scheme in place for several years, the NGO Life Education has a mobile van which visits schools across the country to provide lessons on health, safety and drugs and will now expand the program to include positive digital behavior.

A spokesperson for the opposition Liberal Party said that the Gillard government had already failed in its internet policy, referring to an earlier attempt by the federal government to roll out online filters to protect children from inappropriate content.

"The government's pre-occupation with its abandoned internet filter has meant that insufficient work has been undertaken to assist parents, carers and schools," the spokesperson said.

The spokesman added that Opposition policy would focus on providing greater support for teachers and parents in their work in guiding young children to adulthood, including helping them become responsible digital citizens.

Liberal Leader, Tony Abbott, has proposed the appointment of a "children's e-safety commissioner" as well as new laws to ensure offensive material can be taken down swiftly.

"We do not seek to limit the existing free expression or interaction of adults, rather we seek to protect children from dangerous material and harmful behavior that can damage them."

Australia has so far sought a self-regulatory approach through the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) which works with consumers and stakeholders in the communications industry to achieve active "co-regulation".

The principle of "co-regulation" reflects the federal parliament's belief that government, industry and the community all play a role in managing internet safety issues in Australia. The ACMA also monitors the effect of regulations to ensure they are responsive to the community's needs.

Gillard encouraged children to continue to seek the benefits of an internet future. She hoped children can get the best of curriculum around the world.

"They can hook into the best teaching around the world. They can use that online experience to help them learn a language in our region. They can leave school having developed friendships with children in Japan or Korea or China," She said. *PNA/Xinhua