HarperCollins “plans to launch a pilot program aimed at creating wireless Internet hotspots in and around bookstores for use by consumers,” according to a brief report in Crains. The publisher, which offered free wireless service at the just-concluded BEA convention, “will debut as a four-month trial starting this fall and is slated to roll out to larger groups of booksellers next year,” says the report. “HarperCollins Connects” will “provide wireless Internet hotspots near participating booksellers to help attract customers to the stores and register them for future marketing efforts.”