David King | April 30, 2007
THE online social community MySpace will provide links from its website to a charity that aims to combat youth suicide.
The move comes a week after two Victorian girls were found dead in an apparent double suicide, after leaving a disturbing message on their MySpace website.The words "RIP Jodie and Steph", references to Jodie Gater and Stephanie Gestier, were thought to have have been posted on April 14, the day before the pair went missing.
Yesterday MySpace, a popular social networking site owned by a subsidiary of News Corporation, announced a partnership with the Inspire Foundation to promote awareness about youth suicide and provide support for troubled teens.
Since Friday, the web community has featured banner advertisements linking to a site with information about issues including grief, depression, alcohol, drugs and sexuality.
MySpace Australia's director of safety and security, Rod Nockles, said the initiative wasn't a knee-jerk reaction to the death of the two girls and had been in development for "some months". He said it was a mistake to blame technology for youth suicide.
"If we blame technology, we ignore the underlying causes of youth suicide; feelings of alienation and depression.
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