T-Mobile is giving its mobile phone punters access to the net via their handsets in a move which the cellco claims will "redefine the mobile internet market".

Web'n'walk, as it's known, goes live with five devices. A further three are due to be added before Christmas and all come complete with colour screens capable of displaying content in both portrait and landscape format.

The service is designed to access all existing web sites without the need for the sites to be modified. Although the cellco admits there will be some exceptions, it insists that web sites are presented on mobile phones "as they would be presented on the PC screen".

Web'n'walk costs from £30 which includes 40MB of data usage a month and 100 inclusive voice minutes. Further time online can be bought at £1 per MB.

Hyping up the launch of its new service T-Mobile said it believes web'n'walk will lead to a "considerable growth in total internet usage and, ultimately, more internet traffic being carried by mobile than by fixed line".

Next year, the cellco pans to launch a service based on HSDPA (High Speed Download Packet Access) which it says will deliver speeds more than four times faster than today's 3G services.

Said T-Mobile UK boss Brian McBride: "Web'n'walk is literally 'pick it up and use it', the same way you already use the internet.

"It's a coming of age of internet, because it brings together the three key ingredients for mass adoption: the same internet experience customers are familiar with on their PCs - now mobile; devices that are simple to use and work the same way your PC does; and very affordable tariffs."

Last week O2 began offering its i-mode mobile internet service, while last month 3 unveiled plans to give punters access to a limited amount of web content beyond its own "walled garden". ®