Paddick pledges free wi-fi access across the capital

They would be able to search the web while sitting in cafés, on pavement benches, in parks and possibly even on buses.

The Lib-Dem mayoral candidate would work with boroughs to set up a low-speed service - around 256KB - to avoid competition with commercial providers.

It would allow one-hour connections, which could be repeated continuously, to prevent downloading large amounts of data and playing extended games.

However, the network would get more Londoners online and would be available for secure use by emergency services.

"London is a 21st-century city and as mayor I would want to see 21st-century technology accessible to all," Mr Paddick said. "If elected, I pledge to work with the private sector and local boroughs to make London the first wi-fied capital in the world. Access to the internet is access to knowledge, jobs and education and I will do all I can as mayor to close the gap between the digital haves and digital have-nots."

Mr Paddick would also encourage computer recycling schemes, with reconditioned PCs distributed by councils, job centres and retailers to people on low incomes. He would work with Computer Aid International to tackle the "digital divide" and promote the environmental benefits of reconditioning IT equipment. The National Audit Office, British Airways, Shell and Thomas Cook already donate old computers to the charity.

The scheme, which would cost £ 7.5million to set up and run for the first five years, would be piloted in 10 inner-London boroughs and rolled out across all six zones if successful. Each area of London would have its own home page, which would carry adverts for local businesses, events and community groups.

Mr Paddick gave a guarantee that it would be cost neutral and would be paid for by scrapping Transport for London's advertising and communications budgets. He would look into securing private sector deals to expand the scheme in future.

The wi-fi scheme is based on a similar project in Philadelphia, which defeated a legal challenge from the telecommunications industry, and Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, which has wireless internet provision across 90 per cent of the city.

Norwich and Milton Keynes have both introduced free wi-fi access in their city centres, paid for by business development grants and commercial sponsorship. Last year, the City of London unveiled a wireless system for the Square Mile.

Mr Paddick has used the internet to great effect during his own campaign. He is the only main candidate who is a genuine technophile, staying up late to post comments on discussion boards. As police chief in Lambeth he was a regular contributor to radical website Urban75 under the name The Commander. "Brian is completely immersed in the web campaign - he's not like some politicians who can barely use email," an aide said.

He has hired Jerome Armstrong, a blogger from the US who helped mastermind Howard Dean's 2004 election campaign.