Estonians pump WiFi with petrol

This crew - wifi.ee - consists of 10 activists who have orchestrated the provision of some 50 WiFi hotspots nationwide since 2001.

Like WiFi activists around the world these Estonian geeks are ensuring that the networks are open to passers-by to use easily. Indeed since many are in pubs and restaurants the idea is to encourage visitors to stay and surf the web, spending money all the while.

But unlike WiFi grassroots movements elsewhere, wifi.ee has the support of the three main Estonian ISPs as well as local municipalities. "Local governments are interested on tourism and publicity, and wireless Internet serves them well," says Veljo Haamer, editor of the wifi.ee, a role he carries out at said WiFi-enabled establishments. "It pushes these small towns and villages to move on."

And the group has its own version of warchalking - the international practice of using agreed symbols to indicate an open wifi network in a nearby building. It has stickers akin to those from credit card companies that are placed on doors and windows, as well as traffic signs in open areas, alerting users of the network's availability.

"The USA has the broadness network of wifi areas but it is really very difficult to find them - you have to know them beforehand or search for the information in an Internet cafe. In some places equipped with wifi, local staff weren't aware of it and couldn't give information, " Haamer said. Here's a picture of said petrol station, below: µ