Wireless Web reaches Kashmir
Two months ago, mobile phones were forbidden in tense Indian Kashmir. Now, anyone can wirelessly surf the Web from the houseboats and gondolas dotting the waters of its famous Dal Lake.
In a bid to woo back foreign tourists scared off by a bloody separatist rebellion, authorities have made the sprawling lake in the summer capital, Srinagar, the world's latest, and certainly one of its most unusual, Wireless Fidelity Wi-Fi "hotspots."
"This facility... [will] tap travelers who would like to remain connected to the rest of the world," Jammu and Kashmir state tourism chief Saleem Beig said Monday. "It goes a long way in sending the right kind of signals to tourists."
Wi-Fi allows users with laptops and other wireless gadgets to connect to the Internet through local access points, known as hotspots, set up by an Internet service provider.
