This is a prime example of why having an automated system to provide links to news stories is a risky thing.

There was an online story about the call girl involved in the Eliot Spitzer scandal. At the end of the story, there was a link from Yahoo to help readers search for additional news and Web sites based on keywords in the story.

Unfortunately, in this case the automated system highlighted the words “underage girls.” This means that readers who mouse-overed the phrase got a pop-up window that had images from Flickr. Clicking on the pop-up led to hundreds of images of females in pigtails, knee socks and lingerie as well as other, more graphic images.

Yahoo states it is making sure the phrase “underage girls” will no longer be a keyword link. This incident shows how difficult it is for publishers to keep control over their sites with so many Internet users also generating material.