Prime Minister Julia Gillard today officially unveiled a new cyber education module developed by Life Education and McAfee, which will give middle primary school students across Australia the tools to manage the influence of the digital age and support teachers with online resources to educate on cyber safety.

In a timely announcement – as school goes back and the rollout of the National Broadband Network ramps up across Australia – the new cyber safety module, called bCyberwise, will help middle primary school students to become safe and respectful digital citizens as they progress through their social years .

Recent McAfee research, called Secret Life of Teens, uncovered the need for educating early after they discovered more teens are online than ever before – with an alarming 5.8% having met with strangers that they encountered online.

Life Education and McAfee have also launched a video to highlight the need for education on cyber safety and the lack of awareness primary school students have about the online world. Supporting the video are leading media figures Ita Buttrose, New South Wales AO, OBE, Channel 7’s Melissa Doyle and Haley and Nathan Bracken. The video and additional b-roll can be viewed at www.mcafeecybered.com