MySpace.com is a popular Internet site for connecting friends and making new ones. But there is growing evidence that young people who use it are putting themselves at risk.

News Corp.’s NWS MySpace, on Monday said it would take several steps to deter child predators. Attorneys general in the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking have been pushing for such protections, and MySpace made its announcement jointly with them after some two years of talks. The only state not joining the agreement is Texas, where the attorney general said he cannot support the effort unless it takes action to verify people’s ages.

The agreement is the result of two years of discussions between MySpace and the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia. Authorities pushed for changes after subpoenas disclosed that registered sexual offenders have repeatedly used MySpace.

Home to 110 million users globally, MySpace will also make the default profile setting for 16 and 17-year-olds on its site “private” so they can only be contacted by people they know, making it harder for sexual predators to find them.

MySpace