The online site . . . which allows each user to have their own web page, online diary and photo gallery . . . has become massively popular among Irish school and college students, prompting several institutions to restrict access to it.

The personal Bebo account also features a comment facility, much like a message board, and a 'whiteboard' where other contacts can post comments and pictures. Once a person is a Bebo member, they can invite their friends as contacts and correspond with each other. Some amount of privacy is offered as a 'friend' must be invited into a person's list of contacts or be authorised if they request to be added to someone's list. But it has now emerged that this element of security can be bypassed as Bebo lists almost every school in the country and anyone can sign up to this schools' network, instantly making each person connected to Bebo in a particular school contactable.

"It is amazing the way it has taken off, " said Paul Durant, general manager of the Internet Service Providers' Association of Ireland (ISPAI). "It's a phenomenon, a killer application really, particularly for girls. It has spread virally through schools and with schoolchildren."

To test how easy it is to interact with and have access to personal details of Ireland's teenagers, the Sunday Tribune created a fake Bebo account, which the site cannot prevent from being done. We masqueraded as a 13-yearold girl, 'Lizzie Murphy', and were able to access girls of that age in schools across the country . . . without any obstacles.

Some of the most exclusive schools in Ireland feature on Bebo, often with posts of an explicit nature, while other Bebo 'clubs' and comments are laden with insults against other students. One top all-girls' school in south Dublin featured a poll in one of its 'clubs' where students could vote for who they thought was the biggest "slut" in their year.

Another private all-girls school in Dublin, which recently took steps to stamp out cyber bullying on another popular website, featured a club called 'pedo club 4 37 yr old men (not me! )' with the tagline 'r u a pedo? ? if so den join now!'. Although the listing of schools attempts to put students in contact with each other, some members, both male and female, had listed ages in their 30s and 40s, and judging by the lack of interaction on their comment boards, were clearly not known to the students.

Most students under 18 listed "drinking" under the heading 'Happiest When' on their personal profiles.

Although Bebo members are not obliged to list large amounts of personal information about themselves, many choose to. Most users of the site are easily identifiable by their profile photograph and the personal information they upload. When registering for the site, an option is listed for members (who, according to Bebo's regulations need to be over 13, although nothing prevents someone from lying about their age when registering) to upload their home address, mobile telephone number, home phone number, or 'skype' user name . . . the popular internet application that allows users to make free phonecalls online.

Another much-used aspect of the site is the quiz feature which asks members how well they know their friends, thus facilitating disclosure of even more personal details.

Posing as 13-year-old 'Lizzie', the Sunday Tribune joined 'clubs' for Alexandra College, Milltown, Muckross Park, Donnybrook, Laurel Hill Secondary School in Limerick and Clongowes Wood College.

A hint of paranoia had set in on the Laurel Hill sites, as members believed that teachers were spying on them. "I would just like to bring to all the Laurel Hill girls attention. . .

that I have just received information about certain people who are NOT pupils. . . cough cough. Who are logging on to OUR bebo and busting people for stuff. . . ie under age drinking and other stuff, " warned one. On the Laurel Hill page, particular hostility was directed at a teacher, with a club titled "Ms XXXXXXXX should be shot". "I say we bring back execution they execute murderers, rapists and generally nasty people. Well i say she falls very snuggly into our last category don't you?" the member wrote. On one 14-year-old Limerick girl's message board, young men aged 17 and 18 flirted with her with one signing off with "PS: Any chance of a blow job", while at Clongowes Wood College, some girls from Dublin had joined to "interact" with the male students.

Eleanor Petrie of the National Parents Council (post-primary) said she had received calls from worried parents regarding Bebo. "We are concerned that a lot of people don't approve of how it operates within schools. People need to make sure they know what their young people are doing because it can be accessed so easily, it's impossible to choose people who are going to see it if you sign up to a school."

The ISPAI's Durant advised users not to divulge too much personal information, particularly mobile numbers or street addresses.