The NotFound Project is a collaborative effort between Missing Children Europe, the European Federation for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, and several partners. They've figured out a way to use the space on the web which wasn't being used and turn it into something useful: raising awareness about missing children.
Valeria Setti, Project Officer for Missing Children in Europe, tells Mashable that instead of getting the dreaded 404 error, users will see a message that says "This page can not be found. Neither is...." and it will have the name and picture of a real child that has been missing. There is also a link to the NotFound.org website to get more info.
There's also a button on the page that lets you send a message to your company or someone you know, to suggest they install it on their website.
The project got underway as a pilot test in Belgium, but since Missing Children Europe is an umbrella group with members in 20 European countries, they expect it to grow quickly. In fact, when the project was announced earlier Tuesday, they had 50 companies signed on to participate. By the end of the day, there were more than 300, says Setti.
She positions this new initiative as the latest high-tech version of the milk carton. What began with smartphone apps and email alerts has now expanded into another digital space.
As for spreading the reach of the project, Setti tells us they expect to widen the scope of the program as more partners sign on. When they do, they'll take advantage of geo-location technology so you'll get info on kids missing from your area. She expects it will come to the US at some point.
What do you think of this use of wasted computer space as a way to raise awareness? Let us know in the comments.