WALTHAM Forest could become a Wireless City' despite concerns about the health effects of Wi-Fi technology, especially on children.

Wi-Fi, an acronym for Wireless Fidelity, enables people to connect to the internet at high speeds without cables.

The council has agreed to run a pilot later this year, which will see devices attached to buildings, lamposts, road signs and other street furniture in a square mile incorporating Leytonstone and Walthamstow.

A cabinet report states the network will contribute to the safety and security of local residents, tackle social exclusion, stimulate business and benefit schools.

It also argues that the network will improve the health and well-being of residents because they will be able to access online medical advice and services.

No research has been carried out on the health effects of Wi-Fi but the radiation emitted is similar to mobile phone masts, which have been the subject of thousands of studies.

A Government inquiry looked at the safety risks of phone masts in 2000. It concluded that masts should not be placed where children could be directly exposed, such as schools and playgrounds, because tests showed they absorbed more radiation.

Wi-Fi is currently used in 70 per cent of secondary schools and 50 per cent of primary schools nationally.

A recent investigation by the BBC's Panorama programme found that the height of signal strength in a school using Wi-Fi was three times higher than the radiation beam intensity from a mobile phone mast.

The World Health Organisation says there is no risk from long-term, low level exposure to Wi-Fi networks and the readings taken at the school were well below Government safety limits, but these guidelines have been questioned by some scientists.

The council has made an agreement with BT, which will see the pilot set up to evaluate whether the whole borough should be turned into the UK's 13th Wireless City.

If the network is rolled out, BT will pay the council £100 a year for every structure they use for Wi-Fi devices and £1,000 a year for every structure used for second or third generation mobile phone technology.