Mexico City's 8 million residents will get citywide free Wi-Fi access, along with some 4,000 closed-circuit security cameras, according to Mayor Mercelo Ebrard.

The mayor signed an agreement with China telecommunications company ZTE Corp. this week to established a Wi-Fi network connecting schools and government offices. The agreement is expected to provide numerous jobs for Mexican residents, according to press reports.

"We hope in the coming months, throughout this government, we will have more Chinese and Mexican engineers working together to solve our technological problems," the mayor was reported to have said. The broadband wireless network is scheduled to be completed by 2008.

The most populous city in the Western Hemisphere also will deploy some 4,000 security cameras, also to be connected via Wi-Fi. "The capital government is giving top priority to this project," Mayor Ebrard said.