Autonet Mobile (www.autonetmobile.com), which bills itself as the first Internet service provider for cars, will debut its new service at ShowStoppers during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company also promises to announce an agreement with a world leading car rental company to offer a portable, wireless Internet service by the end of the first quarter of 2007.

It says the service will let passengers check email, surf the web, game or communicate via any WiFi-enabled device. According to Autonet Mobile "The service is optimised for the in-car experience, and is specifically designed to work on 95 percent of US roads, regardless of driving conditions or location."

Installation is claimed to be plug and play by plugging the WiFi access point and router into the car' cigarette lighter.

Autonet has given no details as to how the unit connects to the Internet except to say that its patent pending 'TRU Technology' (of which it gives no information) "enables seamless Internet connectivity so that passengers stay connected while driving...providing intelligent, dynamic automatic session management between high/low speed networks, producing a reliable user experience."

The unit retails for $US399 with a monthly service charge of $US49.

According to Autonet Mobile CEO, Sterling Pratz, 40 percent of all SUVs and station wagons shipped in the US come equipped with media centres, supporting music and DVDs "yet, do not support today's connected lifestyle of the Internet, e-mail and social media."