In Brief

By Lisa McLaughlin

ONLINE DANGER

Teens and adolescents are more likely to encounter sexually explicit conversations on the Internet than parents may realize. A new congressional study has found that 1 in 5 kids online has received an invitation to engage in sexual behavior. Incidents ranged from a 13-year-old girl's being asked her bra size in a chat room to kids' being pursued by strangers' wanting to meet for sex off-line. Few children have reported the incidents to their parents. The study advises parents to remind kids that online buddies can be predators.

NO-FUSS FUND RAISING

Many schools have found a virtual solution to the perennial headache of fund raising. Instead of selling candy, washing cars or auctioning chances to tape your principal to the wall, you can now buy products online to support your school. Internet malls, such as Schoolpop.com and ShopforSchool.com promise participating schools cash rebates of as much as 20% of the total purchase and offer links to online shops like J. Crew, Amazon and Tower Records.

--By Lisa McLaughlin