by , 11:20 AM EDT, April 17th, 2006

Although not as grand as Google and Earthlink's venture to blanket San Francisco in free Wi-Fi, Denver unveiled a free wireless network in its downtown area on Monday. The service, which was coordinated by Kiva Networks and Verbena Design, is said to be one of the first larger-scale free public Internet access projects in the country, according to CBS 4 Denver. The network is available along the LoDo 16th Street pedestrian mall and around Skyline Park.

Tamara Door, CEO and president of the Wi-Fi project partners, commented "Culture and commerce are enhanced by people's access to information and we are excited that residents, visitors, students and business people will have another amenity on the mall and in Skyline Park."

The network is named "DowntownDenverWiFi," and should be easy to find anywhere along the 16th Street mall.