Nintendo DS systems come with built-in wireless communication technology which lets them link up to Nintendo's free online service, Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. This easy-to-set-up service lets you compete with your friends online whenever you like; all that's needed is a Wi-Fi compatible game like Mario Kart DS or Animal Crossing: Wild World. Players can connect at home through their existing wireless broadband connection, or at public Wi-Fi hotspots.

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is not only free and easy, but also safe: you play with people you know by swapping Friend Codes. Plus, new voice chat technology means that in certain games, like Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, you can even talk to your competitors via the DS microphone.

You can also use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to access bonus content for games - in Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, for example, you can download enough weekly puzzles to keep you going for months!