'Warchalking': All wireless workers will be doing it

London's mobile workforce may soon be about to add sticks of chalk to their high-tech arsenal of PDAs, mobiles and laptops.

Workers are being encouraged to adopt a system of 'Warchalking' which involves marking the location of Wi-Fi, or wireless networking, nodes.

When a node within a building is discovered users are being encouraged to mark the pavement outside with one of three symbols - two back-to-back semicircles indicating an open node, a circle indicating a closed node and a circle around a 'W' indicating a WEP (Wireless Equivalent Protocol).

Trials of the system have already been carried out, with workers congregating around chalk marks in London's Bedford Square to work on their laptops out of doors.

According to reports, some system administrators have understandably expressed concern about these guerrilla tactics which could expose and exploit their networks.

However, the organiser of the scheme, Matt Jones, claims the system administrators benefit from the practice as other people are bringing the openness of their networks to their attention.

'Warchalking' is based on a similar system practised by tramps during the US depression who marked the outsides of buildings where they had been successful in finding food or shelter.