Blumenthal's bill is being endorsed by several Republican and Democratic lawmakers from the state and comes amid growing concerns about social networking sites becoming havens for sexual predators and pedophiles. In Connecticut, at least six alleged sexual assaults of underage girls by older men last year were believed to be tied to MySpace, Blumenthal said. He said there have been dozens of similar arrests countrywide.

Blumenthal who is helping to lead a coalition of 44 states asking MySpace to institute age verification, said that attorneys general from other states had expressed a "strong interest" in the measure. Members of the group have also met with officials from other social networking sites, such as Xanga and Facebook, to discuss the issue. "Age verification is the key to making social networking sites safer," he said.

In an e-mailed statement, Hemanshu Nigam, chief security officer of MySpace, called Blumenthal's proposal "well intentioned" but said it is not the answer to protecting minors.

"MySpace is deeply committed to protecting teens online," said Nigam, who called for a "combined approach" that includes tools and features for making the site better, user education and collaboration with "online safety organizations."

"We have and will continue to focus considerable resources on developing effective ways to make our site safer," he said.