"What better way to show we are committed to turning our Outdoor assets into next-generation interactive platforms than providing free Wi-Fi service in what is arguably the busiest stretch of real estate in the world?" said Wally Kelly, Chairman and CEO of CBS Outdoor, as he announced today that CBS will "light up" midtown Manhattan with the creation of the "CBS Mobile Zone," a wireless high-speed network enabling New Yorkers with Wi-Fi-enabled cell phones, laptops or other devices to access the Internet for free, and to make VoIP calls.

The zone embraces The Roosevelt Hotel, where SYS-CON Events has four different shows coming up in the first half of 2008, AJAXWorld Conference & Expo 2008 East, SOA World Conference & Expo 2008 East, Virtualization Conference & Expo 2008 East, and iTVCon - Internet Video Conference & Expo 2008 East.

"This is another example of how the assets of CBS Outdoor are enhanced by new technologies,"  Kelly continued. "This offering will allow us to evaluate the prospect of applying Wi-Fi capabilities across our Outdoor properties globally."

The Wi-Fi HotZone, which is available today in certain areas, will be fully operational on by month's end with a footprint of more than 20 city blocks from Times Square to Central Park South and from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue. This initiative is part of a 6-month pilot program with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit to test the potential communications capabilities of Wi-Fi technology.

New Yorkers who access the "CBS Mobile Zone," will be greeted by an ad-supported homepage that includes hyperlocal content such as breaking local and national news, sports highlights, weather reports, music discovery, wallpapers, ringtones, maps, a social network and the ability to search for nearby restaurants, shops and entertainment complete with geographically- targeted community reviews. Citi and Salesgenie.com have signed on to be early sponsors of the Wi-Fi HotZone.

"We are pleased to deliver what may be the most advanced wireless and pre-WiMax, outdoor offering of it's kind in the U.S.," said Cyriac Roeding, Executive Vice President, CBS Mobile. "Whether it's surfing the web on your laptop from a park bench, receiving breaking news, sports scores, locating the closest recommended pizza shop or calling your friend for free via your Wi-Fi-enabled phone, we believe we're offering something helpful to all New Yorkers. Thanks to the extraordinary capabilities of our partners the whole project took less than six months to complete and was highly cost effective."