It was a campaign she started in Utah, because she said she recognized that, while children grow up using the Internet, parents are technological novices. Don't talk to strangers, doesn't cut it any more, and a new set of safety rules are needed, she said.

“I haven't talked to anybody who doesn't have a child that has seen something or been sent something [objectionable],” she said.

The release of the animated public service announcement and unveiling of the Web site - http://www.ikeepsafe.org - marks the first step. The next phase, Leavitt said, will be trying to get the cartoon into the hands of every second-, third- and fourth-grader in the country, 10.5 million students in all.

The cartoon is inspired by a story Leavitt wrote several years ago about the adventures of Faux Paw, a big, orange tabby that used to laze around the governor's office. The cat remained with an aide in Utah when Mike Leavitt moved to Washington to become head of the Environmental Protection Agency. He is now Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Faux Paw is a play on the French term for mistake, and Jacalyn Leavitt says she hopes the cat can teach children from the cat's mistake. The “techno cat” is envisioned as a cyber-counterpart to McGruff, the Crime Dog.

In the cartoon, Faux Paw logs onto the Internet at night after the governor leaves the Capitol and visits the Ball of Yarn Chat Room, where she meets Fluffy Happy Kittyface. They arrange to meet near the Capitol, but Kittyface is really a bulldog that chases Faux Paw until the governor swoops in his car and rescues the cat.

The new safety rules the cartoon teaches are: Never tell anyone online their name or where they live; don't arrange meetings with Internet strangers; tell a parent or adult if they receive anything that makes them uncomfortable.

Ernest Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said one child in five is solicited on the Internet, one in four sent unsolicited objectionable material and only a quarter will notify an adult.

“It's an extraordinary portal for people to prey on our children,” said Ann Romney, the wife of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. “We're going to give children some skills to protect themselves and also make parents more aware.”

The animation of Leavitt's story started two years ago, when her husband met Kelly Loosli, an instructor in the BYU animation program. Leavitt showed him a copy of the first lady's book and the next day, Loosli took the idea to his storyboarding class and the project built from there.

“It's the Leavitts . . . and it's Internet safety which seems like something BYU should be doing,” said Loosli.

It was animated largely as a class project by the BYU animation department with a style that is an homage to the Chuck Jones-era Looney Tunes. The cartoon features the voices of Secretary Leavitt, type-cast as a governor and hero of the tale, and Jacalyn Leavitt, affecting a French accent as Faux Paw.

“They made it come to life,” Jacalyn Leavitt said.

Produced for just $7,000 - about 1 percent of the budget for a 30-second Disney cartoon - the animated short was recently awarded a student Emmy.