Submitted by: kirkland on Friday December 22nd, 2006 at 04:21 PM EST

The eerie alien glow from my Nintendo Wii returned again last night. This time, it signified the debut of the Wii Internet Channel, which features an Opera-based browser that lets gamers spend time cruising the Web in between bouts of Wii Boxing.

I fired up the machine and grabbed the software first thing in the morning, and it couldn't have gone easier --the Opera browser downloaded in less than a minute, and the Wii did all the setup automatically. I only had to click in three or four places to get up and running. The browser works surprisingly smoothly, and seems compatible with most sites. Even Forbes.com's complex site rendered properly. Flash video played perfectly without having to download anything.

But Wii Internet does work quite well for short bouts of Web surfing --like if you're stuck in a game and want to Google for a walkthrough, or if you just want to check your email. It's a strong addition to the Wii's list of features.

» Full story @ Forbes