Wi-fi laptop fears for children

Computers with wireless internet should not be placed on children's laps, says the head of UK's government's committee on mobile phone safety research. The BBC reports.

"Professor Lawrie Challis told the Daily Telegraph children using wi-fi networks should be monitored until research into potential health risks is completed. He says children should keep a safe distance from the embedded antennas.

The Health Protection Agency has said wi-fi devices are of very low power - much lower than mobile phones.

Prof Challis, retired professor of physics at the University of Nottingham, said: "With a desktop computer, the transmitter will be in the tower. his might be perhaps 20cms from your leg and the exposure would then be around one per cent of that from a mobile phone. However, if you put a laptop straight on your lap and are using wi-fi, you could be around two centimetres from the transmitter, and receiving comparable exposure to that from a mobile phone."

emily | 9:42 AM | Health Issues and SMS Alerts |
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