Gamers without wireless access points hanging out the back of their computers can soon take their handhelds online, thanks to the newly announced but long-rumoured WiFi USB connector. The wee beastie goes on sale soon, and connects your DS, via your PC, to your internet connection. Sadly no support is offered yet for all you graphic designers out there, sorry. Once the dongle is inserted into a free USB slot, you'll simply need to progress through three DS option screens, and then you're online. Great stuff.

Once you're connected, you'll be able to make a friends list of twelve fellow gamers to play with. There won't be any usernames or passwords however, each player will simply be assigned a unique 12-digit ID, dubbed a 'Friend Code'. These codes will be swapped between gamers for locating each other online, or you can find a playmate via a matchmaking server which maps player skills.

The USB connector will be out on the continent on November 25th, and will cost about 30 GBP. The device was revealed in Japan, with Kart DS also announced, which should provide many gamers with reason enough to purchase the device. MK will be out on the same day as the dongle, and supports up to eight players via one game card, impressively. We're also told that public connectivity will be announced soon, and will be free, once conclude their deal brokering on this front. Joy!

By Luke Guttridge