Google's holiday gift to travellers in US - free airport Wi-Fi

SAN FRANCISCO: Internet giant Google is offering travellers in the US a generous gift for the holidays. The Silicon Valley company said Tuesday it would provide free Wi-Fi service at 47 major airports throughout the US until Jan 15, 2010.

"We're very happy to extend our holiday Wi-Fi gift to the millions of people who will spend time in airports over the next few months," said Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience at Google.

"We know that this is a very hectic travel season for people, and we hope that free Wi-Fi will make both travelling and connecting with friends and family a little bit easier."

According to the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), some 100 million people will pass through the participating airports during the holiday season.

With the hectic schedules and seasonal weather often causing delays, the average passenger spends some 70 minutes waiting in the airport once they pass through security, according to FAA figures quoted by Google.

Airports in the scheme include Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston, Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Orlando, St Louis and Charlotte.