KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 (Bernama) -- The Penang K-ICT Council is organising the inaugural Penang Wi-Fi Treasure Hunt this month as part of the Penang and Kulim Pilot Broadband Project promotion campaign.

The event on Jan 20 will be held in collaboration with the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, said Deputy Information Minister Datuk Seri Chia Kwang Chye.

He said the treasure hunt will be held in conjunction with the soft launch of the Penang Broadband Pilot Project to be officiated by Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

"The organisers have chosen seven out of the 120 free hotspots for the wi-fi treasure hunt which will take participants on a circuit spread throughout Penang that ends at the Bayview Beach Hotel in Batu Feringghi," Chia said at a press conference here today.

He said the organisers also planned a special prize-giving ceremony together with the launch of Telekom Malaysia Bhd's high-speed broadband services and Internet Protocol television (IPTV) trials in Penang and Kulim.

Chia said the Penang and Kulim Pilot Broadband Project was one of the projects under the National Broadband Plan, after a survey carried out in 2003 showed that consumers in Penang were ready for broadband.

"Subsequently, the project involved six locations -- Batu Feringghi, Bayan Lepas, Bukit Mertajam, Batu Kawan, Kulim and Kepala Batas -- selected as a testbed to be linked together under one data centre," he said.

"Incorporated as part of the Penang i-Land 2010 Masterplan, the project is designed to provide the necessary infrastructure to realise Penang as a fully connected state by 2010 with reliable, fast broadband and affordable network infrastructure," he added.

-- BERNAMA