AS a game of finders keepers goes it must be just about the best.

For dotted around the streets of Southampton tomorrow will be 50 very good reasons to keep your eyes peeled.

Because hidden away in 50 locations across the city will be stashed almost £50,000 worth of laptops and software - and it can be yours for absolutely nothing.

The hide-and-seek game is the work of Carphone Warehouse which has decided to stash 50 Dell laptops worth £500 each in various locations around the city centre.

And the rules of the game are simple: if you find one, it's yours - completely free of charge with no hidden catches. The company is running the stunt to highlight the increasing influence of wireless broadband Internet connections.

Treasure hunters will find the machines in company packaging and with a pair of white wings attached symbolising the way wireless broadband sets users free'.

Southampton is one of four cities across the UK where laptops are being hidden, with the company also giving winners two-years worth of free AOL Broadband connection - worth around £480.

Organiser Lisa Pearson said: "We thought it would make for a fun and quirky way to celebrate wireless broadband.

"Passers-by are literally free to pick up the laptops in a case of finders keepers'. Not only that but the laptops come with the option of two-years worth of free broadband, worth an additional £480. This is just our way of highlighting what wireless broadband has to offer."

The machines will be hidden from 8.30am on Thursday with the treasure hunt lasting until the last machine is found.

Once users find one of the laptops, they will then be asked to take it to a Carphone Warehouse store where they can then collect their free wireless broadband connection too.

The firm is keeping light-lipped as to where the machines might be stashed.

Lisa added: "We're not going to give the game away. The computers will be placed within the city centre, but they could be anywhere."