The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the UK has renewed an earlier plea, to computer makers, retailers and Web site proprietors, to help make the Internet safer for kids.

In a recent survey at the NSPCC kids’ site, There4me.com, almost four out of five kids who responded said they had been ‘disturbed’ by violent or pornographic images they had encountered, by chance, in the Web.

In one case, a young surfer reportedly clicked on a link offering ‘pictures of animals’ and was connected to a porn site.

NSPCC policy adviser Zoe Hilton observed, “Children are just a few clicks away from innocently stumbling across upsetting or even dangerous pictures and films such as adult sex scenes, violent dog fights, people self-harming and children being assaulted.”

The NSPCC specifically asks operators of social networking and video portal sites to monitor more closely the content their members are uploading and remove offending content without delay.