'IT started off as what I thought was friendly banter, but soon I didn't want to go online at all, " says Iain Ross, 18. "I had put up some photos from a holiday with my family online. A couple of them in particular got some comments from people at school and things spiralled from there really. Before long people I didn't even know were joining in with the sniping." Iain was finishing his final year of secondary school when the abuse started, but cyberbullying affects people of all ages. Recently, in new guidelines to combat the growing problem, the government defined it as "the use of information and communications technology, particularly mobile phones and the internet, deliberately to upset someone else".

This might sound like just another new piece of jargon, but for Iain the problem was a very real one. Examples of cyberbullying include abusive text messages, videos on sites like YouTube or, as in Iain's case, offensive posts made on personal social networking sites.

"I took the photos down, but someone had copied them to their own page, " says the Aberdeen teenager. "I asked Bebo to remove the material, which they did, but in the end I gave up. In a way I think that helped kill the interest." Iain's case is just one example of this new breed of abuse, which in many ways can be worse than physical bullying. As the audience can be very large and reached rapidly, the scope and scale of the problem quickly become massive, especially given how difficult it is to control the spread of electronically circulated messages.

Anonymity is another issue as perpetrators can hide their real identity, making them harder to stop and increasing the distress of their victims. Remote communication can often lead to the bully being far more bold than they would be face to face.

While many schools have installed software on their computers to monitor pupils' use ­ for example, by reporting offensive language or visits to restricted websites ­ this technology cannot be used to monitor what is being said or sent via mobile phones or home computers. Also, some youngsters don't feel able to go to their parents, who perhaps aren't as familiar with new technology.

While that all paints a pretty bleak picture, the government is taking steps to stamp out the problem, by highlighting how serious it is and releasing some detailed new advice on how to deal with cyberbullying. The UK's largest teaching union, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), has welcomed the guidelines, but also said that it would like to see legislation introduced to ban mobile phones from schools altogether.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance agreed that the guidelines would be a help in the fight against bullying and showed intent by the government "that no form of bullying is acceptable or inevitable".

The most popular social networking sites ­ such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook ­ all have functions to help prevent abusive posts and advice on what to do if users run into problems. Although bullying is not a specific criminal offence in UK law, there are laws that can apply in terms of harassment, threatening behaviour or menacing and threatening communications. In fact, some cyberbullying activities could be criminal offences under a range of different laws, including the Protection from Harassment Act.

Teachers have the power "to such an extent as is reasonable" to regulate the conduct of pupils with technology-specific sanctions for pupils, including limiting internet access for a period of time or removing the right to bring a mobile to school. Other punishments could include suspensions or, in severe cases, expulsion.

Unfortunately for Iain, this new campaign has come a little late: "Obviously guidelines and advice on these things is a good idea, but I'm at university now, so I don't bother with them [social networking sites] any more.

Perhaps that's a bit of a shame, cause it would have been nice to keep in touch with some people from school." Yet he remains open-minded about the rise and rise of online communication: "Technology is a great thing, but only when it's used properly.²