Hyderabad: Online retailer Amazon.com Inc. has set up free WiFi zones in three Indian cities for the first time allowing users to experience the Internet and to woo potential customers to its shopping platform.

The digital push at select bus shelters in Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai comes at a time of sustained efforts by governments and the private sector to enable more people to come online, and add to the country’s 300 million Internet users.

Anticipating an increase in Internet users, a number of companies offering services in the online space have sprung up across the country over the past few years, attracting venture and private equity capital.

Amazon, which committed to invest $2 billion in India last July, is hoping to ride the wave, and beat home grown e-commerce players such as Flipkart and Snapdeal by attracting new Internet users to its online marketplace.

“We have been relentlessly innovating to deliver a great customer experience in India. In line with this, we have innovated on the out of home front to launch 24X7 free Wi-Fi hotspots in high footfall locations across Hyderabad so that local residents can enjoy seamless online shopping," Manish Kalra, director of integrated marketing at Amazon’s India unit said in a statement.

Amazon representatives will be available at the WiFi zones to handhold first-time Internet users to login, register and shop on its website. The high-speed Internet access is unlimited and is not restricted to any particular activity, the company said.

In Hyderabad, the Wifi zones are located at Secunderabad bus junction, Dilsukhnagar and Ameerpet. In Pune, they are located at four bus shelters at East Street Road, M.G. Road, Bund Garden Road and J.M. Road.

In Chennai, free Wifi can be accessed at bus shelters in Santhome High Road, Egmore High Road, Dr. Nair Road and Velacherry High Road.

The WiFi zones will operate until 3 August.

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