CHEATING has been a part of school life, I'm sure, since school began.

Human nature being what it is, the chance to do better than you would have hoped, by copying someone else's work when it is offered, is too appealing... especially if you think you won't be caught.

School is a microcosm of life in general, and, unfortunately, there will always be those who rely on dishonesty and manipulation to get ahead.

Teachers and examiners are equipped to deal with this and have spent years fine-tuning exam procedures and papers to mitigate any apparent advantage to be had from cheating.

But now a new twist has been added to an old problem, courtesy of the internet.

Known as Timezone cheating, students who are taking the same exam but who live in different countries are corresponding with each other and passing on vital exam knowledge.

Someone who goes to a British school in Hong Kong, for example, may sit an exam at 9am. It is, of course, still the middle of the night in Britain and so it would be impossible for students here to sit the exam at the same time.

The students in Britain will sit an identical exam several hours later - leaving plenty of time for the Timezone cheats to swap information.

More than 50,000 students, largely the children of members of the Armed Forces and the diplomatic corps, take British exams overseas every year.

Examination papers are sent out to 105 countries, with particular concentrations in the Middle East, South Asia and the Far East.

A report in Saturday's Times newspaper claimed there was a "global network" of these Timezone cheats, spread throughout the world in countries as diverse as Bermuda and Brazil, Canada and the USA.

As part of their expos, The Times alerted English examination boards, who have promised to review procedures.

But how do you stop young people corresponding with each other via the internet?

Some young people are even being targeted through ''innocent'' chat rooms.

Daniel Edgcumbe, a first year student at Cambridge University, was contacted last week as a result of a year-old message he left on an internet messaging programme.

Having stated that he liked science and was studying for his A-levels, he received a message from a 19-year-old girl in UAE (United Arab Emirates) asking him if he was doing physics or biology at A or AS level.

"Since we're doing the same papers, but at different timings, we can tell each other online," said the e-mail.

"My friend did this last year and he got an A in physics and biology, so howz (sic) the plan?" continued the e-mail.

In this instance, Daniel Edgcumb wasn't interested in playing the cheating game, even though he would have had a time difference of three hours to note down the vital information required.

But what if he had been? His parents would have thought he'd been studying extra hard and would have probably rewarded him with an expensive present.

They would have been none-the-wiser and Mr Edgcumb may have gone on to become a doctor, not having even attained, legitimately, his physics and biology A-levels.

It paints quite an horrific picture, but what can be done?

Obviously taking the exam at the same time throughout the world isn't feasible, as it would mean some poor children sitting the paper in the middle of the night.

A spokesman for OCR, one of the three English exam boards, said the internet provided a bigger and "more dramatic" version of an old problem.

"We have systems in place which enable us to spot malpractice but I'm not saying what they are," he said.

"The time-lag has always presented difficulties - candidates could use the phone - but the growth of the internet has provided us with a bigger and more dramatic version of the old problem.

"We're confident the systems we have in place are able to deal with these changes."

A spokeswoman for another of the three boards, Edexcel, admitted, however, that they faced logistical difficulties.

"It's not possible for all students to sit the papers at the same time due to the time differences, although we try to arrange that where possible," she said.

"It's more of a psychological advantage than anything else. There is not much they can learn with just a couple of hours head start but it raises huge moral questions."

It certainly does. At the end of the day, it's up to students to exercise honesty and integrity and no amount of outside regulation on the part of examiners can influence an individual's decision in that regard.

Like so much else in life, the decision you make when faced with temptation is dictated by your blueprint in life, and that is largely set down by your parents and other influencing family members.

If you know it's wrong to cheat, your conscience should make the decision for you, no matter how sophisticated the technology and no matter how tempting the proposition.