Owl Communications of Toronto, the publisher of children’s magazines OWL Magazine and Chickadee, is introducing what it believes to be the first guide for kids and their parents on how to use the Internet.

As well as educating its readers, the purpose of CyberSurfer is to address fears of the new medium, particularly among parents, raised by negative media coverage, says Nyla Ahmad, editor of OWL Magazine and Chickadee and author of CyberSurfer.

Included with the book is a disk of hotlinks to more than 300 Web addresses recommended for kids, from NASA’s home page to the Nickelodeon site.

CyberSurfer hit most bookstores in Canada and the U.S. on March 1, which complements the launch of OWLkids Online (http://www.owl.on.ca), the Web site for OWL Magazine (for children age 8 and up), Chickadee (for kids age 3 to 8) and Family, a publication for parents of subscribers to the two children’s magazines.

Moving on-line was a ‘natural progression,’ says Ahmad, because the magazines encourage children to discover the world around them. And she predicts that the Internet will become as commonplace in the lives of today’s kids as the television already is.

Owl Communications produced the site in-house, and is looking to bring advertisers and sponsors on board.

The Web address appears in the March issue of the magazines, and print advertising will support the release of CyberSurfer. The company is also selling the book through its Web site.