Social-Networking Sites for Schools Promote Safety, Education Benefits

Companies hoping to capitalize on the popularity of social-networking Web sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com are building similar sites for K-12 schools that they claim will be safer and more educational.

Imbee.com, developed by Industrious Kid Inc., an Emeryville, Calif., start-up, and Digication Spotlight, established by two former Rhode Island School of Design instructors, are two such sites that have rolled out in the past few months.

In addition, the parent company of Whyville.net, a social-networking site that has been around since 1999 and offers games and activities for students to play on their home computers, is trying to get schools...