Santa goes wi-fi at Bluewater

The adoption of wireless internet access throughout 2005 has been rapid and as the year end approaches even Santa Claus himself is getting in on the act, with a broadband grotto and a dedicated email address for children's 'wish-list' letters.

Bluewater shopping centre in Kent is offering children the chance to send Santa an email using specially located wi-fi access points.

Children visiting Bluewater can use laptops located outside the grotto to email their wish-list to father.christmas@bt.com before heading inside to whisper in the ear of the portly present-giver and reiterate exactly what they expect to find beneath the tree on Christmas morning.

The use of electronic mail, over good old fashioned letters, presumably allows Santa to streamline order processing and integrate it closely with his supply chain management systems.

Although the wireless broadband service is being provided by BT Openzone we're not sure about the incumbent telco claiming Santa as one of their own by giving him an @bt.com email address.