Download now, or pay later for Wii surfing

(Credit: Opera)

Be sure to hook your Wii up to the Internet and download the Internet Channel soon. That's the deadline for downloading it for free.

So, what exactly is the Internet Channel? It's the feature that lets you use your Wii to browse the Internet from your television with the Opera Web browser.

Right now, the download for using the Internet-surfing feature is free for the life of the machine. But Opera released a "final" version of the feature in April, and soon you'll have to pay for it. As of July 1, anyone wishing to surf the Internet from his or her Wii will have to pay 500 Wii points, roughly the equivalent of $5.