The city of Sunnyvale, Calif., and MetroFi have launched the country's first free, advertising-sponsored community Wi-Fi service.

"We're proud to be the first city in the United States to implement free advertising-sponsored Wi-Fi service for the benefit of residents and local businesses," said Otto Lee, vice-mayor of Sunnyvale. "We think it's fitting that one of the major cities in the Silicon Valley, home to headquarters of leading high-tech companies, be the first to get advertiser-sponsored service off the ground."

Sunnyvale's new Wi-Fi service allows anyone with a Wi-Fi enabled device such as a PC, laptop or handheld computer to receive a high-performance, portable link to the Internet. Ads will be displayed in a small window in the user's browser. Users connect to the Internet via access points mounted on street light poles throughout the city. The southeastern portion of Sunnyvale is activated at this time and can be accessed by anyone in the area. The city and MetroFi plan to offer service citywide by next spring.