A British paedophile who groomed a 13-year-old girl for sex in “virtual world” has been caught after he attempted to meet her in person.

Rachata Burasite, 22, first met the Canadian girl, then aged 11, in an internet site where users adopt the identity of cartoon characters to play games in a make believe world.

It is believed to be first case where a British paedophile has stepped out of a “virtual world” and attempted to make physical contact with his victim.

The pair met on website called Gaia Online which has an estimated seven million daily visitors, most of them teenagers.

Burasite spent two years chatting to the girl online and exchanging hundreds of mobile telephone text messages before flying to Canada spend a month with her .

But when he arrived at Vancouver Airport in July he was stopped by customs officers who discovered he was carrying images of child abuse and carrying a large number of condoms.

Burasite, who lives with his family in Halstead, Essex, pleaded guilty to an offence of “child luring” at a court in Richmond, British Columbia, last month and was sentenced to six months in jail. A charge of possession of child pornography was dropped.

He has already been deported back to Britain because of the time he had served awaiting trial. An Essex Police spokesman said that officers met Burasite when he arrived back at Heathrow Airport and took him to Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court where he was added to the UK Sex Offenders’ Register.

Earlier this week, a British primary school teacher admitted sending a text message to a 14-year-old boy she had befriended on the interactive computer game World of Warcraft. Lynn Walls, 42, of Sunderland, sent the boy, from London, a series of graphic texts and was warned she faces jail after admitting inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity.

The conviction of Burasite has increased concern that children at increasing risk in virtual worlds, where adults can disguise their true identity behind images of fantasy characters.

Constable Rosiane Racine, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s integrated child exploitation unit, said that Burasite had first met his victim on Gaia Online.

“They spent almost two years chatting online and by SMS before they decided to met each other. The girl knew he was older, but but not how much," the officer said.

“When Mr Burasite arrived, a Vancouver International a customs officer decided something was not right and began to question him. Then he called the police and that was when they found out he was here to meet a 13-year-old girl for sex. He planned to stay for a month.

“The girl’s parents were very distressed when we told them what had happened.”

Constable Racine said the case should alert parents to the fact that a home computer can be as dangerous for their children as a public place like a shopping mall or park.

“They should tell their children there should be no chatting to strangers. They should be aware of where there children are and the computer should be in the living area, not the child’s bedroom.”

Gaia Online advises parents to talk to their children about their online activities, check their member profile page, and tell them never to arrange meetings with strangers they meet online. It also has strict rules on discussing child sexuality or abuse.

The Canadian investigation was helped by Britain’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

A spokeswoman for CEOP said that it was receiving an average of four reports a day of classed as a high risk situation where a child was being abused or at risk of being abused.

The Times contacted Burasite, who refused to comment.

Times Recommends

• Sarah Brown says 'no thanks' to veal at G8 - twice
• Stockton-on-Tees is obesity capital of Britain
• Stores blame poor sales on Murray factor