Logging on to check e-mail just got easier in downtown Vicksburg with the startup of free wireless Internet service along Washington Street.

The service sponsored by the City of Vicksburg is available between Veto and First East streets. It is also available about a block to the east and to the west, depending on line-of-sight with antennas at Washington and Clay streets and Washington and First East streets.

Areas with wireless Internet service are commonly known as WiFi Zones. Anyone with a laptop computer and wireless Internet card can sign on to the service and check e-mail or surf the Web for up to two hours each day.

“We wanted to provide a service downtown that most progressive towns are doing and do it at very little expense,” said Barry Graham, communications manager for the city.

Cities in Mississippi with WiFi Zones include Gulfport, Jackson, Hattiesburg, McComb and Brookhaven. Graham said the service is mainly for tourists visiting the downtown area to check e-mail or make online reservations.

Billy Gordon, head of the city’s information services department, said the cost of the equipment for the wireless Internet was $400 per antenna. He said the Internet access is part of the service used by the city, and there is no additional cost for the WiFi service.

Bill Ford, who manages the city’s radio equipment and Internet services, said users will have to set up a free account using an existing e-mail account in order to use the wireless service. Ford also said use of the service will be limited to two hours per day and downloads will be limited to five megabytes per day.

The service also uses a guardian program that filters out Web sites based on content.

“We’re trying to keep them off the bad stuff,” Gordon said.

The city also uses wireless Internet for city employees in some buildings, including City Hall and City Hall Annex. Ford said plans are to expand that service over time.