MySpace is asked to reveal names of sex offenders

RALEIGH, N.C. — Top law enforcement officers from eight states asked MySpace.com on Monday to turn over the names of registered sex offenders using the social networking website.

In a letter, the attorneys general asked MySpace how many registered sex offenders were using the site and where they lived. North Carolina Atty. Gen. Roy Cooper signed the letter, along with attorneys general from Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Cooper’s office said media outlets in 2006 “reported almost 100 criminal incidents across the country involving adults who used MySpace to prey or attempt to prey on children.”

In December, MySpace announced it was partnering with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp. to build a database on sex offenders in the United States. Software to identify and remove sex offenders from the site was launched in early May, MySpace said Monday in a statement.