PUPILS at every Scots secondary school are to be urged to report suspected internet paedophiles to a new online police service.

Today children at an East Renfrewshire school were the first in the country to be briefed on the scheme.

The system is aimed at children - or their parents who are worried paedophiles may be trying to "groom" them using chatrooms, instant messenger programmes or social networking sites.

The new "virtual police presence" has been set up by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, a Government-funded body of experts who track down child sex abusers and focus much of their effort on the internet.

Before the end of the year, the CEOP wants every one of the 190,000 children aged 11 to 15 in Scotland to have been briefed on how to use the reporting facility.

Deputy education minister Robert Brown was at Woodfarm high school in Thornliebank this morning where pupils were among the first to be advised on the system, which is now up and running at www.ceop.gov.uk He was joined by Deputy Chief Constable Tom Halpin, from the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, and Jim Gamble, chief executive of the CEOP to launch the campaign.

Since last April, the agency says its work has led to 27 paedophiles being placed in custody.