BUS commuters will be able to while their time away on bus rides by checking movie timings, replying to e-mail messages or watching YouTube clips.

Starting on Friday, they can surf the Web for free on 12 popular bus routes that criss-cross the island.

The SBS buses ply the routes which carry commuters to and from Ang Mo Ko, Toa Payoh, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road and Jurong.

Commuters can use their laptops or mobile phones which can tap wirelessly into the Internet.

Telecom company Nokia has installed the high-speed mobile broadband service, known as High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), to allow for this free surfing.

Ang Mo Kio and Toa Payoh Bus interchanges will also offer this new wireless access by the end of next week, with Nokia promising that it will extend the wireless service to more bus routes and interchanges next year.

The service links users to the Internet once they switch on the Wi-Fi function of their mobile devices, regardless of brand and telco service provider.

This initiative, said the Nokia spokesman, was largely inspired by the Government's effort to improve wireless coverage of the country through the Wireless@SG drive.

Launched last December, Wireless@SG already covers most shopping malls and cafes in Singapore, with 7,200 Wi-Fi hotspots found nationwide.

As of July, about 520,000 people have signed up for Wireless@SG.

A test conducted by The Straits Times assessed the user-friendliness and effectiveness of logging online on these buses. Bus numbers 88, 147 and 143 were tested.

Once online, we checked our e-mail, streamed music from online radio stations and watched a video on YouTube. All activities could be done easily on buses 88 and 147.

However, we were unable to connect to the Internet on the 143 service.