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Nearly £2.8bn is spent on internet advertising each year, and this has led to public concern about children's exposure to online marketing.

Created by media literacy body MediaSmart, with the sup-port of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), Digital Adwise is a set of online lessons intended to teach children about digital content in a fun and engaging way.

The lessons will be aimed at six- to 11-year-olds, and participating brands are investing 'tens of thousands' of pounds in the activity. The initiative will include the distribution of the teaching materials to 15,000 - or 60% - of the UK's primary schools by 2011.

Parents and teachers can al--so access the information via the Digital Adwise website.

The programme was launched this week by the minister for creative industries, Sion Simon. 'Digital Adwise is cutting edge,' he said. 'In today's media environment, children need to be helped to think critically about the media, particularly in relation to the internet and advertising.'

This view was echoed by Nick Stringer, head of regulatory affairs at the IAB. 'Children and their parents need to better understand how the internet works, not just as a platform but as a means for advertising,' he added. 'Many children are more internet-savvy than their parents, as they have grown up with it

and trust it more. However, they need to be able to evaluate how online advertising works.'

In her 2008 report for the government, 'Safer Children in a Digital World', TV child psychologist Dr Tanya Byron expressed concern about an 'increase in commercialisation and children's vulnerability to persuasion or exploitation'. She also raised the 'important question' of 'how young people filter genuine content from advertising' online.

Many popular web services used by children are advertiser-funded, prompting consumer groups and MPs to call for tighter controls on online advertising on these sites.

However, Stringer insisted that  the 'self-regulatory frame-work adequately covers online advertising'. 'The area in which there is a need for clarification is [the] distinction between paid-for and non-paid-for ads, such as on social media, and claims made on companies' own websites,' he added.

The launch of Digital Ad-wise follows the announcement last week that Google has agreed to fund an extension of the ASA's remit to include search marketing on websites, reflecting the increasing importance of digital media.

The industry has been keen to avoid government regulation of online advertising, calling instead for effective self-regulation of developing online ad formats.