A new federal Web site designed for children gives lessons in which seafood to avoid in the grocery store, while deep-sea fishing or fishing on a lake.

Designed for children ages 8 to 12, the Web site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses games and a children's book-style design to show which fish tend to be high in mercury. According to the EPA, children, pregnant women and mothers-to-be should avoid shark and swordfish and eat no more than two meals a week of salmon and catfish, for example.

Young children and unborn babies are most at risk of mercury contamination, which can lead to brain and nervous system damage, according to public health officials.

Mercury occurs naturally in the environment, but man-made sources, including coal-burning power plants, add to the pollution. Airborne mercury settles in rivers and streams it works up the food chain to fish that people eat.

Last year, the Georgia Board of Natural Resources adopted rules that require Georgia Power to install controls for mercury pollution at six of the 10 coal-fired power plants it operates in the state.

The EPA Web site also offers links to each state's fish advisories. Georgia's recently updated Web site says it's OK to eat striped bass from Lake Lanier that are between 12 inches and 16 inches long, but larger ones should only be eaten once a week. Largemouth bass should be eaten only once a week as well.

The site does not address environmental concerns about over fishing or bottom trawling, which marine conservationists say is akin to clear-cutting on land and is used to catch shrimp.

In a statement, EPA's assistant administrator for water Benjamin H. Grumbles said, "Our new Web site is a fun way for kids and parents to learn about the importance of fish in a healthy diet and how to choose the healthiest fish to eat."