The legislators of Missouri State yesterday voted and gave final approval to a bill which will deal with cyber-crimes. The law was enacted in the wake of the suicide committed by a Missouri teenager, Megan Meier, who killed herself over a failed Internet romance, which later turned out to be a hoax.

The bill, which is expected to cover several aspects of the new wave of technology, identifying as illegal the harassment from computers, text messages and many other electronic devices, besides the well known written and telephone communications, will come into effect after the signature of the Republican Governor Matt Blunt.

In a statement, Governor Matt Blunt said that the social networking sites and technology have provided criminals with a whole new set of weapons against their victims and the new protections and penalties are highly needed in order to ensure a safer environment for everyone.