UK ISP Virgin Media has revealed that it’s currently in advanced talks to launch a free London-wide WiFi network. According to areportin today’s Telegraph newspaper, Virgin Media’s Chief Executive Neil Berkett has told investors that the company was in “quite advanced negotiations” with London councils over the plans, noting that a roll-out could happen in the near future. It’s thought that Virgin Media’s ‘free WiFi access for all’ would be available to anyone at speeds of 0....

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has stated today that he is opposed to the idea that has been floating around the corridors of British power of late that access to online communication tools like Twitter and BlackBerry Messenger should be restricted in times of unrest. Speaking at the Parliamentary Home Affairs committee hearing into the riots that briefly swept across parts of England last month, Johnson said that “The view I’m getting, this is not seen as a clear benefit for the police… there are intel advantages to being able to track this stuff....

The past two nights saw violence and looting in north London as protesters took to the streets – first to express their frustration with the police following a recent shooting, and then last night, it seems, simply to cause trouble and get free goods from shops. With TV news struggling to keep up and Twitter racing ahead of events like an excited child, we really need trustworthy people to sort truth from fiction in real time on Twitter – it’s one of thenew functionsof journalism....

A London store has become the world’s first official offline retailer of Google’s lightweight laptop, the Chromebook. Google’s Chromebooks have been on sale sinceback in June, but thus far they’ve only been available to buy online. But as Huffington Postreports, the Currys and PC World store on London’s Tottenham Court Road is now selling the machines to in-store customers too. A Chromebook is a lightweight, portable laptop that runs on Google’s Chrome OS....

Plans to outfit London’s Tube service with mobile networks before the 2012 Olympics have been abandoned after the major mobile operators and engineering companies working on the project agreed to halt plans due to funding issues and the limited timeframe to complete the works. In Februarywe reportedthat Chinese mobile manufacturer Huawei was reportedly in the final stages of the securing a deal that would see a mobile network deployed on the London Underground in time for the 2012 Olympics....