The newly introduced facility, the first of its kind in any hotel in Bangladesh, will help business and leisure travelers with laptops keep in touch with their offices, friends and others in different countries, officials of the hotel told reporters at a news conference in Dhaka yesterday.

Guests of the hotel from now on will be able to use the internet through "plug and play", using wireless connections from all public areas of the hotel including the lobby, restaurants, pool area, and function rooms, said Grant J Gaskin, general manager of the hotel.

Prepaid card system has also been introduced so that conference guests or coffee guests can get access to the service. Broadband internet service provider Alap Communication helped the hotel set up the service.

The charge for a guest for one hour of internet usage is fixed at $10, $25 for four hours and $35 for 24 hours. The charges include all taxes.

The hotel's Sales and Marketing Director Brett Mahoney, Finance Director Habibullah Monju and Marketing Communications Manager Imtiaz Ahmed Siddiqui were also present at the press conference.