Brighton residents are enjoying faster internet access while they shop, courtesy of the city's latest coin-operated internet kiosk.

WebPoint has installed a new broadband kiosk in the basement of the Churchill Square shopping centre.

Last year, the Brighton-based company installed two kiosks in the top-floor food hall.

Managing director Simon Gould said: "The existing kiosks have done reasonable business, although the food hall probably wasn't the best place for them to be.

"But in the week since we've installed the new kiosk in a more prominent place business has doubled."

Mr Gould said although the new kiosk was broadly similar to the existing units it had the advantage of providing fast digital subscriber line (DSL) access to the internet.

The kiosks offer coin-operated web surfing, email access, chat, sports, weather and other internet services.

Mr Gould said: "We get many people using the kiosks who haven't got, or aren't allowed, personal internet access at work. We also get a lot of travellers using them, shoppers and the inquisitive.

"We've even had a 74-year-old woman 'phoning up to ask how to access certain web sites."

The kiosks, which cost more than £4,000 each, take up a only a square metre of floor space. When a coin or token is inserted, they display the WebPoint home page, from which users can move on to the world wide web.

A five-minute online session costs 50p and 15 minutes £1.

The company has established sales operations in Switzerland and is starting to receive orders both for the UK and other European outlets.

It plans to install more than 4,000 kiosks throughout Europe by 2004.

WebPoint already has kiosks in more than 900 locations, including airports, libraries, shopping centres, railway stations, pubs, youth centres and laundrettes.

Mr Gould said: "We are on track to meet our targets. We have installed about 250 units so far in pubs and shops and we're expecting to have another 500 units on the streets by the end of the year."

WebPoint, whose UK arm was established in 1998, installed a kiosk in the Hove Youth Advice Centre as part of a project to provide 130 kiosks in similar centres across the country.

Last year, it signed a three-year deal with Railtrack to place units at 15 major railway stations.

Mr Gould said: "After securing the contract, we are very visible around the country. People have got used to seeing our kiosks and they feel comfortable using them."

The kiosks had been designed with internet novices in mind.

www.webpoint-kiosk.com