People in Kendal are invited to visit TalkTown', a new online town launched today by the NSPCC to help tackle child abuse.

TalkTown, which can be visited at www.talktilitstops.org.uk, is a pilot website which is part of the charity's largest ever national call to action, Talk 'til it stops'.

It is the first time the Society has used artificial intelligence to help anyone worried that a child is being abused. People can turn to the town's virtual residents for help on what they can do and how they can contribute to ending child cruelty.

The town has four resident characters; street savvy teenager Marcus, primary school teacher Umesh, pub landlady Rachel and neighbour Elena.

Talktilitstops.org.uk will help get people to talk to each other if they are worried about a child. Talking to a friend or family member can help a person who has concerns about a child work out what they should do and give them the confidence to act.

Talktilitstops.org.uk uses a technology called Lingubot to enable members of the public to interact directly with one of the four characters. By asking the residents questions, individuals will be able to start talking to the characters about the difficult subject of child abuse and learn more about the role they can play in ending cruelty to children.

The underlying technology is based on a sophisticated word and phrase pattern recognition system that matches preprogrammed responses in the Lingubot's knowledge base with questions typed in by users. As people interact with the Lingubot, sophisticated analysis tools will be used to expand the characters' knowledge throughout the campaign.

It is the first time this technology has been used to address such a sensitive topic.

Not only will TalkTown provide an innovative environment for the UK public to start talking and learning more about child abuse, but it will also help the NSPCC to understand peoples' attitudes to child abuse better than ever before.

Stephanie Hughes, NSPCC new media communications manager said: "We are very excited to have the chance to use this state-of-the-art technology. It will bring the Talk 'til it stops' initiative to life in an interactive and emotionally engaging way.

"Research shows us that three-quarters of sexually abused children don't tell anyone at the time of the abuse1, that's one reason why it is so important for people to speak out if they are concerned about a child. We hope the site will give people the confidence to make a real difference to the lives of abused children suffering in silence."

Interactive marketing agency DNA designed and built the microsite and Creative Virtual is the company responsible for building TalkTown's four Lingubots.

Neil Miller, DNA managing director said: "This campaign illustrates the power of a great interactive idea married with cutting edge technology to make some real headway for an important cause such as the protection of children against abuse. We're very proud to contribute to the monumental work of the NSPCC in this area."

Visitors who talk to the characters about actual abuse will be strongly advised to contact the NSPCC's 24-hour Child Protection Helpline (0808 800 500) for support and advice.

Talktilitstops.org.uk also encourages visitors to donate to the NSPCC and complete an online child protection survey.