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An expanded Web version of segments seen on CNN

Home of the Whopper -- and the Internet

Graphic August 20, 1998
Web posted at: 1:25 p.m. EDT (1725 GMT)

From Correspondent Rick Lockridge

NEW YORK (CNN) -- You've heard of those "cyber cafes" where people sip exotic coffees and linger over artsy Internet sites. Well, there's a place just off Wall Street in New York that also mixes food and the 'Net, but at a much faster pace.

Orders given at the counter reveal that this is not your typical Burger King.

"Gimme a Whopper and all my e-mail," says one customer.

"Yeah, I do want fries with that Web page," orders another.

The strange combinations are all because fast-food franchisee Peter Abramson got the urge to fill a wall with computer terminals and give 20 minutes of free Internet access to any customer who buys a sandwich, fries and a drink. (Audio 224 K/9 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

At lunch time, Francisco Romero can tell his pen pals back in Indiana that he's finally gotten a job as a bank teller while Veronica Areizaga amuses her little sister with an online game.

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For Thomas Sandberg, the union of fast, cheap food and fast, cheap computers is an amazing concept he wouldn't expect to see in his native Berlin. (Audio 168 K/7 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

At this cyber-burgerteria, customers pick up a special password at the point of purchase. Sealed computers and elevated keyboards keep the food out, leaving only the mice subject to occasional soda spills and ketchup-covered fingers.

Monitoring software prevents surfers from visiting porn site or other controversial places. However, you can visit chat rooms and give yourself an online name like "nudegirl" or "nudeboy."

"(I'm) just trying to get attention," laughs Yanneck Koenchlen, a youngster from Switzerland trying out the "nudegirl" moniker. "It's good because everybody wants to talk to me."

sign

Others take their cyber time more seriously, choosing to make their time at Burger King a working lunch. (Audio 84 K/3 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

The dedicated employee can even send their boss e-mail: "Dear Boss: Wait 'til you see my expense report from New York. It's a Whopper!"

Having turned so many heads with this experiment, backers say chowtime Internet access is only going to get bigger. (Audio 196 K/8 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

It seems as the World Wide Web continues to envelop us, even fast food won't be fast enough to escape.

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