Governments struggle as militants refine Web tactics

By Alexandra Zawadil

VIENNA (Reuters) - Islamist militants are becoming more skilled at tailoring their message to specific audiences, including women and children, and Western societies are struggling to find a response.

That was the message from a meeting hosted by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) this week, attended by leading experts on Islamist radicalization.

"One of the most alarming trends we found on the Internet recently is what we call 'narrowcasting'," said Gabriel Weimann, professor of communications at the University of Haifa in Israel which monitors 5,800 militant Web sites.

Instead of 'broadcasting' -- trying to reach the biggest possible audience -- the approach is to slice the audience into segments and target each with specific tactics, he said.

"Terrorists are using the Internet to focus on children, very young children, to attract young people to the ideology and later to the way of terrorism.

"When they target children, they do everything any commercial advertiser would do. They use comic books, storytelling, graphics, movies, competitions, prize-winning and so on," Weimann added.

Western security officials have been voicing growing concern about militant 'grooming' of children on the Internet. Last week the head of Britain's MI5 spy service said individuals aged 15 and 16 had been implicated in terrorist-related activity.

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