News Corp.'s MySpace said on Tuesday it will offer in the next 30 days a technology to identify and block known terrorists from the popular online social network.
The top online social network, which has a large following of teens attracted to its music and entertainment offerings, has also been used by terrorists seeking to recruit underage Internet users. The personal safety of its users while online is viewed as one of the biggest threats to MySpace's ability to make money in the future, analysts say.
MySpace said it has struck a deal with Sentinel Tech Holding, an expert in background verification, to build the new feature. The new technology, called Sentinel Safe, will let MySpace search state and federal databases to seek out and delete MySpace profiles of terrorists. It will be available in the next 30 days.
"We are committed to keeping terrorists off MySpace," the site's chief security officer, He-man Nigam, said in a statement.
Profiles of terrorists operating in the U.S. are added to a database available to authorities. According to MySpace, there are "an ungodly number" of known terrorists in the United States. The company said the new service will be the first national database that brings together about 46 state terrorist registers.