PHILADELPHIA, (PRNewswire) — Attorney General Tom Corbett today announced the new Operation Safe Surf video contest on Internet safety for Pennsylvania high school students during a program at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. The announcement came as part of Microsoft’s Get Net Safe tour, a ‘grassroots’ campaign targeting consumers across the Unites States to raise awareness of computing security
and Internet safety issues.
Speaking to an assembly of high school students, Corbett and Michael Ferreri, general manager of the Mid-Atlantic region at Microsoft Corp., outlined the program, which invites all high school students in the
commonwealth to produce a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) about online safety. As part of Microsoft’s Get Net Safe tour, the assembly highlighted the tour’s message of helping people learn how to become more safe and secure on the Internet. The 12-city tour gives children, teens, parents, business owners and people over 50 the opportunity to participate in unique forums about how to be better protected online.
“With the growth in popularity of social networking sites, instant messaging and blogs, teens are getting messages from everywhere – and everyone – about being safe online,” Corbett said to the students. “Here is
your chance, as a teen, to talk about the issue from your own perspective. What does online safety really mean to kids? Why should they care about it? And, how can kids best protect themselves while surfing the net?”
Nine regional semifinalists will be chosen by a panel of judges, and the top three finalists will be chosen through online voting by the public. The three finalists will travel to Harrisburg to put the finishing touches
on their videos in a state-of-the-art production facility, and the top three finished videos will be posted online for final voting. The winner will be announced during a special ceremony on May 1, 2007. The winning
video will air on Pennsylvania television stations.
“The Internet is a valuable resource that is changing the way we live, work and entertain ourselves,” said Ferreri. “The Get Net Safe tour events will provide information for people to understand how to help protect their PCs, themselves, their businesses and their families online, so they can realize the full potential of the Internet.”
The nine semifinalists each will receive educational software from Microsoft, and the three finalists each will receive an Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the educational software from Microsoft. In
addition to those prizes, the first-place winner will receive a laptop from Dell and a color printer from Okidata.
For more information and contest details, visit the Attorney General’s Web site at http://www.attorneygeneral.gov. For information on Internet safety, visit http://www.staysafe.org.