Want to check your e-mail between meetings or surf the 'Net during your lunch hour? If you happen to be walking or eating outdoors near the Young Research Library or the Sculpture Garden, you might be able to.

Mobile wireless computing arrived at UCLA on Nov. 28 when Communications Technology Services (CTS) installed seven antennas and launched a data wireless pilot as a test case. Since then, 200 volunteer students, staff and faculty with laptops and wireless network cards that are 802.11b-compliant have been able to log onto the Internet and manage their e-mail if they are anywhere in a coverage area that stretches from The Anderson School north to the Public Policy Building.

The "wireless" area also includes the first and third floors of YRL and the interior of Northern Lights. But it's the Sculpture Garden and the common outdoor dining areas where going wireless seems most appealing.

"People like the convenience of doing their work, homework or research on the Internet anywhere they choose," said project manager Gwendolyn McCurry, CTS associate director for planning services. "They can be outdoors, but when they're on their computers, it's as if they're sitting in their offices."

Due to winter weather, use of the network outdoors has been somewhat limited, McCurry said. But she expects usage to rise with the temperatures.

CTS, at the request of Administrative Vice Chancellor Peter Blackman and Associate Vice Chancellor of Information Technology Jim Davis, undertook the project in collaboration with representatives from nine administrative and academic units. CTS will assess technical problems, interference, impact of the weather, customer support issues and other considerations to help the campus decide whether a wireless Ethernet network should be deployed to augment UCLA's wired network.

McCurry said the team hopes to extend the project to spring; currently, it's slated to end March 22. To volunteer or learn more about the project, go to www.cts.ucla.edu.