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THE NEW YORK TIMES says Nintendo is expected to enable free wi-fi for its DS handheld to be at McDonald's.

The burger chain already has wi-fi available at 6,000 restaurants but users are required to pay for the service. According to the Times, however, the Nintendo service will be free.

An NPD Group Analyst told the paper it'd be like a "kids' version of Starbucks' wireless hot spots".

The service will be provided by Wayport, which expects to add a 1,000 restaurants by June 2006.

Perrin Kaplan of Nintendo America has said that there are no plans for Pictochat to be wi-fi enabled which would seem to indicate that Nintendo are either uninterested in the Instant Messaging market or waiting for a Pictochat 2. While it is uncertain when this will be introduced elsewhere, many McDonald's restaurants in the UK are already wi-fi capable.

The INQuirer