A recent survey by internet security firm Symantec Corp. suggests that many parents are unaware of their children's internet activity and typically underestimate how often their kids encounter online threats.

For Symantec's "Norton Online Living Report," research firm Harris Interactive surveyed more than 4,500 adults and 2,700 children ages 8 to 17 from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, Brazil, China, and Japan from November to December 2007. To qualify as survey respondents, subjects had to report spending an hour or more online each month.

The findings show that internet users generally are confident, socializing with strangers online (21 percent of U.S. respondents said they do this) and making friends online (35 percent of U.S. respondents).

However, though parents and children share some of the same online activities, many parents are unaware of their children's online activities and the security threats that surround those activities.

Overall, parents appear to underestimate how often their children encounter indiscretions online, such as receiving requests for personal information, being approached online by a stranger, and experiencing cyber pranks or bullying.

In fact, although 25 percent of U.S. children report having experienced requests for personal information, fewer than 2 in 10 parents think this is happening to their children.

Although 13 percent of U.S. children report experiencing cyber pranks, only 2 percent of parents believe their children are being cyber bullied.

Also, although 16 percent of U.S. children report being approached by an online stranger, only 6 percent of parents think their children are being approached.

About one in five U.S. children say they do things online that their parents would not approve of. They also report spending 10 times more time online than their parents think they do. Parents think their children are online about two hours a month, but in reality, children report spending 20 hours a month online.

This "digital disconnect" between parents and their children can be attributed to a lack of communication, the report says. The survey reveals that only half of parents say they've spoken to their children about practicing safe online habits. This is upsetting, the report says, considering that 81 percent of U.S. children say they are comfortable talking to their parents about their online experiences.

What's more, this digital disconnect is not just happening in the United States--it's happening in most major countries around the world.

"This report clearly demonstrated a global digital divide" between parents and their children, said Marian Merritt, internet safety advocate for Symantec. "We've always taught our children to not talk to strangers in the offline world, and now we must teach them how to safely exist in an online world filled with strangers."