Fancy a quick flutter on the footie? Thanks to Betfair's recent debut on the Yahoo! TV Widget engine, gamblers can place bets from the comfort of their armchair.

But what does this mean for the traditional high-street based bookie? Is it making it all too easy for addicts to engage their gambling vice? And, most importantly, who's going to win the League?!

We had a quick chat with Betfair TV CEO Simon Miller to find out.

Betfair has become one of, if not the biggest betting exchange on the web. What do you attribute to its popularity?

We are by a country mile the biggest betting exchange in the world. It's really down to the fact that we offer 20% better odds across the board compared to a traditional bookmaker. We take the risk out of bookmaking by acting as an exchange whereas a traditional bookmaker will take a view and a stance on each different betting market. Betfair customers bet against each other and choose their own odds. Betfair doesn't take a view on who is going to win, we simply earn a commission from the Betfair customer who happens to win. I think it is that that has lead to our popularity.

And that customer to customer based betting service carries over to the new TV widget?

Yes, it's built directly from the exchange API; we're using the same odds, the same security, the same registration, the same payment and so on.

How does it differ from your web browser service?

There is one important difference and that is that the web is obviously a platform that allows for quite an intense relationship with the user. On the Betfair website you can both "back" and "lay" (meaning to either favour a team in a result, or feel that the opponent will either win or hold them to a tie - Ed.) , a reasonably complex process that works perfectly well on the website. But we think that television, as a causal entertainment experience, is very much a "back" only service. People are not coming on to use their television platform as a sophisticated trading system.

How long was spent testing and developing the user interface? Was the focus of the design to make it as simple as possible for the casual user?

Absolutely. We've paired everything right the way down to the absolute minimum. We spent five or six months learning the technology, building the system and to QA it through Yahoo! and manufacturers. For example, on the web there is about 40 different ways you can bet on any single football match; yellow cards, red cards, the number of corners etc. But adding that level of choice onto a television menu doesn't make any sense. Instead we offer 4 different ways to bet on TV that cover the vast majority of the revenue. We think we're offering the customers the things that they most want to bet on, and balancing that with an interface that makes it easy and quick to find that bet, particularly giving the constraints of being ten feet away and using a remote control.

Right now then it's only football that is covered by the new service?

At the moment it is only football. In the next 6 months we plan to develop a multi-sport widget. And again, rather than offering all the thousands of events that Betfair online features, we will pair that down to about five different sports. We'll also have a sixth slot for "specials" like X-Factor results for the final, and other tele-visual related events such as Strictly Come Dancing.

Do you expect the habits of TV gamblers to be much different from your web users?

I think it will be. I think that the television-betting mentality is far more casual, far more entertainment based. I imagine people will tune in, watch a match on a Sunday afternoon and make it a little more interesting by putting ten quid on it. We've set the maximum stake for now at £25, also offering a £2 bet, a £5 bet and a £10 bet, again the reason being our focus on casual customers. The more serious betters will stay on the web.

What measures are in place to ensure user's details are secured?

We use the same methods as on the web to register and pay, referring them to our website. Data entry for now on a remote control is not so good. We will have a registration and payment Widget in our road-map, but online the security in place is of a banking level, possibly higher. We hold masses of money and client funds so we need that level of security. Also in our business, ensuring that no-one under the age of 18 can access our service is absolutely crucial to our reputation, apart from just being the law. The television service raises an interesting question; "What about my kids? Can my kids get on there?" It's an interesting point but there are measures in place. Not only is a username and password required, but if there has been no activity for 30 minutes, or you shutdown the application environment, that information has to be re-entered. Again, we're trying to balance ease of use with a prudent approach to security. The living room, a communal area itself, offers a level of protection; your 14 year old would find it easier to get onto your laptop which you've accidentally left open with your betting account logged in and create mischief than do it in plain sight in the public space of the living room. However, a degree of individual responsibility is of course involved.

Some people will argue that the ease with which people can place bets through the TV service helps facilitate irresponsible gambling? How would you respond to that?

Firstly we will take the same attitude towards responsible gambling that we take on all platforms and take it very seriously. If we see patterns of behaviours which are seemingly problematic we have very well regimented processes in place. The fact that the vice is there whichever platform you choose to use means that all we are really facilitating is an easier and more convenient mechanism to bet on. We are taking a very prudent approach from a targeting perspective by restricting the stake levels to £25. Problem gambling is all about the moment when people lose control. I think we've got a lot of controls built into the very nature of the product to handle that, as well as the publicness of the living room which itself discourages problem gambling.

With online betting, poker and casinos so mainstream nowadays, do you see the internet and internet connected TV's eventually killing off the traditional bookies?

No I don't. I think that the traditional bookmaker has a place. There will be certain customers who will simply prefer that. We've become an important company in this space, employing a lot of people, developing amazing technology, providing what we think is a very good service. Clearly that has attracted a lot of customers. Internet connected televisions will simply be another platform. There will be some people who will say " I don't want to go to an internet site, I prefer to go to my bookmaker", who will now perhaps say, "This television thing, that kind of fits with how my life works". But do I think that the internet and internet connected televisions will be the final nail in the bookies coffin? No I don't think so.

How do you see services like your own, and other Yahoo! widget services evolving in the future? What do you think the next step is?

Personally, we'll start with football and build up to a multi-sport widget. We'll also develop casino games. Our ambition is to have an appropriate subset of the full sweep of a gambling portfolio available on television. It's not practical to have 250 different slot selections on a television, it'll be a subset of that. Televisions have the advantage of being 42 inches, or 50 inches or so; whatever size screen it is, it's usually the biggest and best quality screen in the house. The exciting thing is, if this platform is as successful as we think it might be, we can then bring real drama to the way that we present casino games. Putting the level of animation and video quality already seen online into a television widget will make it that much more of an invigorating experience.

To round things up, can you give Tech Digest's readers any good tips? The Grand National or football perhaps?

I've never been asked that question before! I am the world's worst better! You're asking absolutely the wrong person. I happen to be a Newcastle fan so my recommendation would be to back Newcastle for the championship title!

Thanks very much for your time Simon.

It's been a pleasure.

Check out Betfair's online service here.

While illegal MP3 downloads may be giving the internet a bad name, here's a story proving it isn't all theft and piracy in the world of digital music.

Scars on 45, a UK band funded by fans via the Slicethepie website, have just bagged themselves a major label record deal with Atlantic Records.

With Slicethepie, music aficionados take on the A&R role, making money by reviewing tracks, spotting new talent and ensuring the best bands get put forward for financing. Fans can also invest anything from £1 upwards to help a band they think are worthy of hitting the big-time.

And that's just what they did with Scars on 45. Within weeks of signing up to the site, the band had raised £15,000 directly from music fans to record their self-produced debut album. Their track "Beauty's Running Wild" was then featured on hit US show CSI:NY and from there on in it all fell into place.

David Courtier-Dutton, Slicethepie CEO said: 'We are delighted for both the band and their fans who, in this case, have truly been instrumental in their success. We believe that consumer driven filtering has an increasingly influential role to play in the future of the industry enabling talented artists to access an ever widening range of commercial opportunities."

Check the Scars on 45 Myspace page here.

Think you've got an ear for the next saviours of pop? Try your hand at a bit of online A&R at Slicethepie here.

Pirate Bay founders Gottfrid Svartholm and Fredrik Neij have been fined a further one million Swedish kronor (£87,500) after failing to heed a court order asking that the torrent site be shut down.

EMI Music, Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music took the pair to court last year for encouraging and facilitating the illegal downloading and sharing of copy-protected materials and won .

As ever Neij remained as nonchalant and un-phased as ever. Already being chased for a 50 million kronor (£4.3 million) fine from last year's court case, he said of the news that " a few million more or less doesn't really affect me."

So torrent sites like Pirate Bay; web liberators, the Robin Hoods of the digital age, or just plain thieves? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below or via Twitter here.

A post on the Google blog titled "A New Approach to China" has revealed Google's plans to stop censoring search results gathered at their .cn domain.

The decision follows a number of attacks on the Gmail accounts of Google users who openly advocate free speech in China. The communist Chinese government is notoriously wary of the internet, and rigorously polices what its citizens may access.

"We have discovered that the accounts of dozens of US-, China- and Europe-based Gmail users who are advocates of human rights in China appear to have been routinely accessed by third parties," says the blog.

"These accounts have not been accessed through any security breach at Google, but most likely via phishing scams or malware placed on the users' computers...

"These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered - combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web - have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China."

Google begrudgingly agreed to censor some search results when it opened Chinese offices in 2006. However, this decision not to censor any search results, whatever the cost, is a bold move that could force Google to leave the communist state.

"We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all," the blog concludes.

Google.cn currently holds 17 % of Chinese search-engine traffic.

The Consumer Electronics show, the behemoth of tech, the Valhalla of gadgetry, has come and gone for yet another year. But this time, rather than arriving with a bang, it slinked into sight with something more like a whimper.

CES 2010 had really had the wind knocked out of it before it had even got into the ring this year. All eyes were already on Apple and their rumoured Tablet in the run up to the event, despite the fact that Apple are traditionally a no-show at CES, instead planning their own top-secret unveiling at the end of January. Likewise, Google delivered a sucker-punch in the shape of the Nexus One, their flagship handset revealed at their own event on the eve of CES 2010's opening.

To make matter's worse, Microsoft's opening keynote speech (delivered by walking personality drain Steve Ballmer) was pretty darn dull. First a power cut, then a load of waffle on the 2 month old Windows 7, Ballmer hardly seemed to be trying to keep our attention. Though the Christmas release date for Project Natal was welcome news, it revealed nothing new about the device, whilst the partnership with Hewlett Packard for the new Slate device seemed merely like a case of keeping-up with the Joneses. Or should that be the Jobs-es?

But the Las Vegas event wasn't without its highlights. Far from it in fact. Maybe it's the recession, or the generally pocket-pinching mood in the air these days, but for once the most sought after tech wasn't in the realms of dreamy aspiration, but was actually fairly affordable.

Take for instance the brand new 3D TVs on show, of which the Sony BRAVIA XBR-52HX900 (video above, courtesy of Ashley) was the pick of the litter. Finally shaping up to the standards set by its cinema siblings, company reps promised that the average 3D TV will cost little more than a top-end Full HD set. Skype and video calling in many TV sets too will help turn your living room into somewhere the Jetsons could only dream of.

E-readers are also looking to be both big and affordable in 2010. As a comic book fanatic I'd have liked to have seen more attempts at a colour screened e-reader (I'm not including the MSI offering, which is really just a dual-touch screened PC, super-cool as it is). Plastic Logic's Que Pro e-reader looked great though, with a massive, durable screen, and was far lighter than the hundreds of books you'd be able to store on the tabloid-sized device.

There were, of course, tablets aplenty. The dual-booting Viliv P3 may be an underdog in the category, but seemed way more exciting than Microsoft's offering. The offer of both Windows and Android on the same device showed a respect for user choice not often seen in the back-slapping world of consumer tech.

There was still time for fun too. The Parrot AR Drone Quadricopter was fun and fresh, combining real-world toys with augmented reality controls. A little less high-tech but full of retro-chic was the Lasonic i931 iPhone dock/ghetto blaster mash-up. Odd's on its at the top of Flava Flav's Christmas list. And there was still some time for the weird and the plain old dumb, too.

Though less prevalent than other years, there were some great examples of brand new tech on show that were genuinely exciting. A real head-turner and my favourite item of the show was the Light Blue Optic Light Touch. Using a pico projection engine and a touch sensitive sensor, it'll turn any flat surface into a touchscreen. It works ridiculously well despite still being in the development stages, and has almost unlimited potential.

Some detractors say that, recession or not, CES looks to be on its last legs. It's sad, but not unlikely, when you consider the audiences that companies like Apple and Google can command for just a single product launch. However, for emerging companies like Light Blue Optics CES is still vital to gain some exposure, not to mention the fact that such a prominent date in the calendar forces the tech giants to have made some significant, competitive advances in their gear, year-on-year.

So here's hoping the old dog's got a bit of life left in it yet. Hopefully next year will kick off the recessionary cobwebs and kick the show back into high-tech gear. It wouldn't take much to tempt us back to the City of Sin once more.

Click here for full CES 2010 pre-show, day one, day two and day three round-ups.

You've had Netflix, you've had iTunes; the next contestant in the great "Battle of the Online Movie Services" is Sony's Qriocity.

Heading to anything with a Xross Media Bar on it (be it your PS3 or soon-to-be-released web-connected Sony sets) in February, you'll be able to stream video in standard-definition or 720p straight to your screen.

Theres already a load of film publishers backing the service, and Sony promise "hundreds" of films ready to go at launch.

Inspired use of the letter "Q" aside, it's a pretty dumb name for a rather important service. Here's hoping more thought went into the service than the moniker it wears heavily around its neck.

Via: Engadget

Firefox fans who can't wait to get their hands on the latest release of the super-fast, super-safe web browser can today try out the first release candidate for version 3.6.

As ever, higher speeds are top of the agenda for developers Mozilla, particularly considering the advancements made by rival Google and their Chrome browser. Start up times are quicker and Java Script performance is up, and the inclusion of asynchronous script running (prioritising bandwidth-intensive web elements) also help speed things up significantly.

Also new is the inclusion of Personas, allowing users to customise the look of the browser and increasing the security from third-party malicious software threats.

Grab the RC1 Firefox 3.6 download here.

Another day, another Tech Digest CES 2010 round-up. Fancy Tweeting hands-free in your car or controlling your PC by breathing? Check today's top stories below and find out how.

Twitter coming to Ford cars
The digital equivalent of drink-driving?

Motorola announce Backflip Android Phone
Hinged smartphone is Motorola's big CES 2010 offering

Ion launch the iType full QWERTY keyboard add-on for the iPhone
Making the portable unwieldy

Vuzix demo Wrap 920AR Augmented Reality visor
Turning your trip to the shops into a scene out of Robocop

Zyxio's new breathing-based PC controller, the Sensawaft
Affordable accessibility gadget, perfect for disabled PC users

3D gaming headed to the Palm family
Apple isn't the only mobile now capable of some hardcore gaming action

Is the Viliv P3 the underdog tablet to look out?
Dual-booting tablet is looking very tasty indeed

Razer and Sixense bring motion gaming to the PC
But will it catch on within the incredibly competitive PC gaming peripheral market?

UK getting the Dell Mini 3i
Android phone hitting UK shores in the not-so-distant-future

Video- Armour Home Q2 Tilt Internet radio
Innovative and simple radio from Brit-based Armour

Video - "World's smallest Windows PC" the UMID M Book 1
It makes a gnat's bum look big. Well...not quite. But you get the idea

Video- Casio's Digital Art Frame
Making all those dodgy Facebook snaps look good

Video - The coolest retro iPhone hi-fi ever, Lasonic's i931
Bring 80's boom box street-chic bang up to date

Video - Toshiba's Cell TV that is controlled by hand gestures
Innovative tech, but it makes you look a bit of an idiot; not sure I want a work out in front of the telly

Video - Sony's BRAVIA XBR-52HX900 3D TV
Their flagship 3D set is a stunner

Video - Panasonic's 3D camera
Bet the adult-entertainment industry cant wait to get its mitts on this one

Click here for more CES 2010 coverage from Tech Digest

Tech Digest at CES is sponsored by Best Buy. For more CES stories and videos go here

It may have gotten off to a dull start thanks to the lacklustre showing from Microsoft, but CES 2010 today threw up some really nice surprises. Keep an eye out for the Light Blue Optic's Light Touch here in today's round-up, and be prepared to be blown away.

HTC unveils the Smart, their first budget smartphone
You might recognise this one from last years leaked HTC product roadmap

Dell tease mini Android based tablet, the Streak
It's like an Archos internet tablet. But red.

Sony Z series laptops hands-on video
Ashley gets a quick demo of the new range of Sony laptops

EarVibe vibrating earphones on the way from Tehcnocell
Somehow improves sound quality. Yeah right....

Lady Gaga new creative director for Polaroid
No, it's not a wind-up, she's got herself a real job

Light Blue Optic's Light Touch turns any surface into a touchscreen
Amazing emergent tech, and the most exciting spot of the day so far in my opinion

Samsung's animated OLED identity card is equal parts cool and creepy
Your ID is about to go crazy cool, Bladerunner style

Microsoft's Ballmer announces the HP Slate
The iSlate...Oh? The HP Slate, right...

Project Natal Xbox 360 motion control coming Christmas
You hear that Santa!?

Microsoft's Steve Ballmer opens CES, but does anyone care anymore?
It's a pretty boring display from the PC giants

Sony's new products
In a quick, handy gallery!

Sony Dash personal internet viewer video
Sony do a Chumby

The five hottest e-readers
Another gallery rundown, this time of the best e-readers so far seen at CES 2010

Is this the hottest TV of the year? Samsung's 3D LED 9000
Real-time 2D to 3D conversion on its way

Five things to watch for
Ashley gives his run down on the best things to keep a look out for at this year's convention

Click here for more CES 2010 coverage from Tech Digest

Tech Digest at CES is sponsored by Best Buy. For more CES stories and
videos go here

BT have today announced that they are ahead of schedule for their super fast broadband rollout, and plan to have the network ready nationwide in time for the 2012 Olympic games.

BT aim to have a 100Mbps service ready for 10 million UK homes by July 27th 2012. The initial forecast had predicted the network would be ready for March 2013.

Ian Livingston, BT CEO called for further support from the UK government.
"If you look around the world, several governments are pro-actively supporting the roll out of fibre broadband," he said. "There's still a debate in the UK - which is fine - but we need our politicians to decide how much of a priority fibre broadband is."

The news comes with one stipulation however; only homes directly catered for with fibre optic cabling will receive the 100Mbps download speed. Anyone who connects via a BT hub-box somewhere nearby will receive a connection closer to 40Mbps instead, due to the copper cabling used.

Still, 40Mbps is hardly to be sniffed at. Virgin Media had better start watching their backs.

Via: BBC News

Square Enix are taking the Final Fantasy universe online once again with FFXIV. If, like us, you just cant wait to start the MMO grind afresh, Square Enix are now taking applications for the FFXIV beta phase.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old and have an active Square Enix ID account (which you can sign up with for free).

The applications at this stage are only for the PC version, with PS3 betas expected to kick off early next year. That said, I aint fussy - I just want to charge about on a Chocobo and maybe partake in some FFVII inspired cross-dressing.

Click here to apply.

BSkyB will go no further towards making their content available free on Google's YouTube, the Daily Telegraph have revealed today.

The news comes as another twist in the saga between Richard Murdoch's News Corp (majority stakeholders in Sky) and YouTube owners Google. News Corp have previously labelled Google as "parasites" and "thieves" for what they consider is the unfair distribution of their news content.

Sky were beginning to warm to the idea of distributing full length shows on YouTube, but have decided that the content would have to come at a price. With YouTube as yet unprepared to put a premium on content found on their site, it appears that Murdoch and co. are attempting to hammer home their mantra that no good journalism comes free of charge.

A Sky spokesman said: "The pay model is at the heart of our business and allows us to invest significantly in high-quality, distinctive content."

Sky do offer an online video-on-demand service, their Sky Player. However, the Sky Player is only available to those who already have a subscription with the Pay TV merchants.

Though Google refused to comment directly on negotiations with Sky, a spokesman said: "We are, of course, always talking to rights holders large and small about the distribution and revenue opportunities for their content on YouTube."

Via: The Daily Telegraph

D-Link are set to launch the DWA-131 Wireless USB adapter later this month. Little bigger than a 50 pence piece, the tiny adapter connects to a Wireless 802.11n network and can provide download speeds of up to 300 Mbps.

The adapter uses what is known as "smart antenna technology". The device transmits multiple streams of data, which it bounces off walls to minimise interference and help eliminate Wi-Fi dead zones.

"With its sleek compact design and unmatched performance, this ultra-portable USB adapter is an ideal choice for setting up a secure, high-performance wireless connection" explains Andrew Mulholland, Marketing Manager for D-Link UK.

The D-Link Nano Adapter uses 802.11n technology to maximise the speed, strength and range of wireless signals to significantly outperform 802.11g devices, but will still be fully compatible with existing 802.11b/g wireless routers and access points.

The DWA-131 will be available on the 21st December from Play.com for £34.99.

2009 saw the first wave of internet connected TVs and Blu-ray players hit shelves. New research from Futuresource Consulting now shows that as many as 20% of TVs shipped in Europe in 2010 will feature internet capabilities.

"In Europe, four of the major brands have already launched connected TV products that go beyond basic home networking functionality and allow delivery of over-the-top web services," says David Watkins, Research Consultant at Futuresource. "This includes basic weather and news pages, social networking, video streaming and catch-up TV. Although initially limited to high-end and mid-range products, we're going to see web connectivity feature on an increasing number of products next year, becoming standard within two to three years. We expect content to be the next battleground and a key driver for connection and usage, particularly through interaction with social networking sites and access to recently released movies."

Futuresource Consulting expect as many 15 million internet connected TVs to be in use by the end of 2010, a figure making up almost 10% of all flat panel TVs then in use.

The research company also see online content and Video on Demand services such BBC's iPlayer forcing Pay TV companies like Sky Digital having to drastically evolve in order to sty competitive.

TeliaSonera are today launching what they claim to be the world's first commercial 4G network.

Though their have previously been trials of similar services, this is the first time a commercial 4G network has been available for consumers to use.

The Nordic provider is hoping to deliver speeds of around a whopping 80Mbps. That's ten times the fastest 3G networks currently available.

"The use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity. This is why we launch 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo," said Kenneth Karlberg, TeliaSonera's President and Head of Mobility Services ."Being first out with new technology gives us unique experience that we can use on all our markets. We will continue the roll-out to offer our customers new communication services for the future."

TeliaSonera are looking to deliver the service across all the major cities of Sweden and Norway, and also have a licence to deliver the service in Finland once they are ready.

Here's hoping someone picks up on TeliaSonera's initiative and rolls out a similar service to UK web surfers.

A £6 a year tax will be added to your landline telephone bill, Chancellor Alastair Darling has revealed today. A further 50p per month will be added to the bill for each extra phone line installed in residents' houses.

Following up on the plans made in the Digital Britain report, the poll tax will be used to extend the current network range to remote areas of the UK, and is expected to raise £175 million each year.

"We now want to go further, so we can provide the next generation of super-fast broadband to 90% of the population by the end of 2017," explained Darling. "This will be funded through a duty of 50 pence a month on landlines which will be included in the finance bill."

Firms willing to bring super-fast broadband to remote areas will be granted access to the £175 million funds, though any network created must be made available to every ISP.

Of course we're keen to see the whole of the UK have access to a super-fast broadband connection, but the extra expense to homes which have multiple phone lines (estimated at around 1.7 million households) seems a little unfair. Adding VAT on top of the new tax also seems like a cheap tactic.

Via: Tech Radar

Channel Five has signed a new deal with YouTube, allowing users to stream a whole host of Channel Five shows over the web. The three-year deal will let users view Five's shows online for up to 30 days after they are initially broadcast.

250 hours worth of shows are currently available through YouTube, including top shows such as Neighbours, Home and Away and The Gadget Show.

Five's US line-up is currently not featured in the service, though Five are confident an agreement with the US rights holders will soon be made, making the content available online.

Check out Channel Five's YouTube service here.

MySpace Music

MySpace Today Trailers | MySpace Video

Myspace Music has launched in the UK. The site features music and video streaming, and is an important part of the Myspace shift from social network to content hotspot.

The service (previously only available in the US, New Zealand and Australia) joins the growing list of services such as Spotify, Sky Songs and Last.FM that offer free music streaming to its users.

As well as the addition of Myspace Music charts and iTunes download links, the Myspace Music launch will be complimented by a host of exclusive content from the likes of 50 Cent, Alicia Keys and Lost Prophets.

Click here to check out what the service has to offer.

If you don't want to splash out on a netbook, or perhaps just want a simple introduction to the wonders of the web for a loved one, take a quick look at the Chumby widget box.

Connect it up to your Wi-Fi internet connection, and the Chumby will let you browse as many as 1500 internet widgets. It's a simple, intuitive device that makes use of a 3.2 inch touchscreen to let you browse content from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and a whole host of other sites.

The Chumby also comes with built in 2W speakers, an accelerometer for gaming and two USB ports for accessing a limited range of media files.

You can pickup a Chumby from Firebox priced £139.99, or for more information on the widget box, click here.

Virgin Media are launching a new super-fast 7.2Mb mobile broadband USB modem today.

Users can pick up the new dongle on a range of different contracts, from rolling 1 month deals right up to extended 18 month programs. Usage limits from 1 to 3Gb a month apply.

Graeme Oxby, executive director of mobile at Virgin Media said: "We're thrilled to be offering this faster mobile broadband to our users. If you're not at home or near a wireless connection, mobile broadband is the best way of staying connected on the move and we're delighted to be making this a speedier, more pleasant experience for our customers."

However, will the service actually be able to provide the speeds it boasts? Of over 3,600 different mobile broadband connections tested by Broadband Genie, 65% were clocked running at below 1Mb, despite providers such as Vodafone claming speeds of up to 7Mb.

For more info on the new dongle, visit www.virginmedia.com .