CBS this week announced plans to create a 'CBS Mobile Zone' in Midtown Manhattan, covering more than 20 city blocks with Wi-Fi from Times Square to Central Park South and from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue. The network is expected to be fully operational by the end of November - though at this point, it's only a six-month trial.

Anyone who signs on will first view an ad-supported homepage with local content. The first sponsors will be Citi and Salesgenie.com. Other network partners include Tropos, BIG, Fon, Ning, Goowy, Veoh, Yelp, 1020, Aptilo and Can-Do Entertainment.

The network itself makes use of CBS Outdoor billboards, as well as MTA-owned subway station entrances. "In addition, many local businesses will be offered free routers allowing companies and patrons to tap into the CBS Mobile Zone from indoors," according to a company statement.

Wally Kelly, CEO of CBS Outdoor, says this is being viewed as a test network for other possible deployments. "This offering will allow us to evaluate the prospect of applying Wi-Fi capabilities across our Outdoor properties globally," he says.

And most intriguingly, the press release also includes the following statement: "The CBS Mobile Zone also provides interactive advertising opportunities that can be localized down to the individual billboard..."

More here from CNET News ... more here from Gothamist ... more here from Wi-Fi Networking News ... and the press release is here.