Imagine walking the halls or sitting in class, never knowing if the person sitting next to you in math is the one pummeling you on Formspring. The site takes cybercruelty to a new low by making it appear consensual: When you register for your account, you literally invite others to bash you with their "honest" opinions. Because it appears consensual, it no longer seems like cybercruelty at all.

Facebook is working with a gay-advocacy group to reduce the amount of hate speech and bullying on the online social hub.

The Mormon Church chided its members Tuesday to consider whether their attitudes toward all people — including gays — followed Christian principles, responding to activists' demand that a church leader withdraw anti-gay statements.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay civil rights organization, delivered a petition letter carrying 150,000 signatures to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' headquarters, asking leader Boyd K. Packer to retract his statements in an Oct. 3 sermon that same-sex relationships are unnatural and can be overcome.

POLICE investigating the death of a teenager believed to have hanged himself were last night looking into claims that he was being bullied on Facebook.

Tom Mullaney, 15, was found dead at his home in Bournville, Birmingham, on Thursday morning.

Since his death, some friends claimed via tributes on Facebook that he was being bullied on the social networking site and had been threatened with a beating.

Yesterday West Midlands Police confirmed they were looking into the allegations, although they stressed the death of the popular Kings Norton Boys' School pupil was not being treated as suspicious.

A spokeswoman said: "We are investigating, although we do not think the circumstances of his death are suspicious.

"We are looking at Facebook bullying as a line of inquiry," she added.