Over 600 Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection hotspots set to appear in a number of UK retails stores by the summer...

In a joint statement, Nintendo UK and BT Openworld have today announced a deal that will see a further expansion to the number of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection hotspots. At the moment 7,500 hotspots are available for DS gamers to use around the UK, but today's deal will see that figure rise by around 600 hotspots by the summer.

Over 500 of the hotspots will be rolled out at various UK retailers including Toys R Us, GAME, Gamestation, and HMV together with Nintendo Download Stations where gamers will be able to download demos of DS titles such as Pokemon Link, Trauma Centre: Under the Knife and Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? Bonus items for Animal Crossing: Wild World will also be available to download at the stations.

Commenting on the rollout David Yarnton, General Manager, Nintendo UK, said: "Nintendo are once again leading the way in bringing a significant, groundbreaking service to UK retailers and their customers. Nintendo has revolutionised Wi-Fi video gaming, removing all of the negative aspects whilst retaining the fun and diversity it offers and now anyone can join in with the one million other people across the globe currently enjoying our service. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service truly offers the mass market a great opportunity to fully embrace Wi-Fi."

Chris Bruce, General Manager of BT Wireless Broadband, added: "The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service is already proving extremely popular with users across the world. From our point-of-view, it's a strong proof-point that Wi-Fi is becoming mainstream. We'll really see Wi-Fi coming of age this year and this agreement is taking BT Openzone even further into the high street and retail parks by giving gamers access to Wi-Fi in an easy and accessible format at the point-of-purchase."

We'll have more news shortly...