Washington, Mar 7 : It has emerged that Sunderland City Council has teamed up with a group of academic researchers to put on an exciting interactive event aimed at making Internet users more aware of the problems of disclosing personal information online.

The event forms part of the nationwide Festival of Social Science, which is run by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the leading founder of social science research in the UK.

The event, which will be held on March 13 at the Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens, is intended to help the general public discover more about the world of social science.

The Exploring privacy: your privacy and the Internet event begins with a mime about a case of mistaken identity online and the privacy implications that ensue from it.

This leads into an audience discussion which uses a multi-media presentation to find out their views about giving out personal information online, not just, for instance, when shopping but also when using social media such as Facebook.

The event will be showcasing the Visualisation and Other Methods of Expression (VOME) research project, which is seeking to raise awareness about online privacy.

It involves academic researchers working with Sunderland City Council to produce tools to help online users deal with issues such as privacy of personal information and consenting to that information being used appropriately.

It also aims to help those offering online services to respond more effectively to concerns about privacy.

This is a fantastic opportunity for members of the public, who want to do more online, but feel constrained by worries about their own privacy, to come along and tell us about these concerns and maybe learn a little which might help them feel more secure in their future online dealings," Dr. Lizzie Coles-Kemp, the VOME project manager said.