Proximity marketing system manufacturer Bluevibe has launched ‘Bluevibe@Home’, a Windows application that turns regular PCs with Bluetooth connectivity  into internet access points via Bluetooth.

Mobiles located in Bluetooth range of these PCs can access the mobile web, using BlueVibe’s custom-built mobile browser, which is available on GetJar, and via the company’s online store, for $4.99 (£3.32). It has so far been downloaded 200,000 times.

The application installs on PCs and then sets up a local Bluetooth network in which it broadcasts the broadband network available to the PC, forming an internet access points for all nearby bluetooth-enabled mobile phones. This means they can access the mobile web, even if they don’t have their own wi-fi capabilities, and without incurring cellular data charges.

“Our clients have been using this sort of functionality since last year to turn their premises into Internet-enabled locations, providing internet access to the vast majority of people present – not just those with a wi-fi enabled device,” says Bluevibe CEO, Vangelis Antoniadis.

One such user is TGI Friday’s in Dundrum, Ireland, where more than 800 people used the system in the first six months following its installation. “We didn’t really expect it to do so well in a restaurant – where people go to eat and don’t usually engage in other activity – but we had close to 20,000 page views, most of them related to social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo,” he continues. “And it makes sense: people want to stay connected even outside their homes. Given the response we’ve had in restaurants we’re pretty enthusiastic with what we could do with this in other spaces where people wait idly, such as airports, football stadiums, and other public spaces.”