MSN� and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), one of the nation's leading child advocacy groups, today named San Diego a Cyber Safe City -- one of only six American cities to be so honored -- and recognized local police officer Sgt. Dave Jones as a Cyber Safe City Hero for championing online safety in the community.

"San Diego is fast becoming America's safest city because law enforcement, community members and specifically the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force have set a precedent for successfully helping make the Internet a safer place," Mayor Dick Murphy said. "We're thrilled our hard work and diligence in online safety have been recognized, and we hope our commitment to fighting cybercrime will serve as an example for communities nationwide."

The Cyber Safe City designation is part of a nationwide initiative to recognize cities that are pioneering the drive to help keep our nation's children safer online and to encourage other cities across America to follow the lead of these online safety role models. The Cyber Safe City program is also designed to provide resources to law-enforcement agencies, educators and families for online safety education in San Diego and throughout the United States. The education and training resources MSN and NCMEC are implementing locally are being made available nationally at http://www.staysafeonline.com/.

San Diego and the other Cyber Safe Cities -- New York; Naperville, Ill.; Dallas; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Seattle -- will receive the MSN/NCMEC Cyber Safe City award, along with additional resources and tools to help them continue their outstanding work in educating citizens about online safety.