Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott ordered MySpace.com on Monday to release the names of all convicted sex offenders who have set up online member profiles.

MySpace.com agreed to turn over first and last names of its online users that are registered sex offenders in Texas. MySpace.com will also provide IP addresses, E-mail addresses, and their online profile information. This data will help the Attorney General crack down on sex predators who use the Internet to prey on children.

“By providing this information, MySpace.com is helping law enforcement crack down on online sex predators,” Abbott said. “Social networking sites must continue to make their Web sites and content safer for our children. We urge all social networking Web sites to take all necessary steps to keep children safe from the unwanted advances of online predators.”

Abbott, a nationally recognized leader with more than 500 sex predator arrests, has repeatedly pressed MySpace.com and other social networking sites to implement definitive safety measures to protect young users of their Web sites from sexually explicit images and unwanted solicitations. Since the push from Abbott and other attorneys general, MySpace.com has taken steps to improving safety on its site, including screening profiles for inappropriate content and making certain profiles private.

“The incorrigible nature of sexual predators requires public officials, law enforcement, industry leaders and parents across Texas to join together to make the Internet a safer place,” Abbott added. “Without meaningful safeguards in place, no child is safe from the unwanted advances of chat room predators.”

The Attorney General, along with state leaders, has also fought to make Texas the toughest state in the nation, creating one of the nation’s toughest versions of “Jessica’s Law”, tightening penalties for Internet predators and providing district attorneys more tools to prosecute child sex crimes.

To find out more about Abbott's efforts to crack down on sex predators, visit www.oag.state.tx.us or call (800) 252-8011.