Devolo's Homeplug kit uses the mains power lines in your home to connect computers together.

Plug one of the devices into both the mains and the computer, and another into the mains and the computer, and they'll both start talking.

The new kit, the Wireless Extender, includes one of the standard devices and another with an aerial extending from its top.

You can use it as a normal Homeplug adapter, but it can also be used to create or extend a wireless network. For instance, if you don't already have wireless, you can use the second adapter to create a network.

Setting up the basic Homeplug network was easy – just plug and go if you wish, or install the supplied software to set up security so that your transmissions can't be intercepted by someone who shares your power lines (if you're in a shared block, for instance).

Wireless setup was likewise simple – again, the software allows the user to easily start the network connection and secure it with a password. The devices can also be used to extend an existing network (put them in another room and they'll extend the range for notebooks that are far from the router). But we were disappointed to find that, in this mode, they only support the outdated WEP encryption (in standalone wireless mode they support the newer WPA and WPA2). If you only need the extender, it's available on its own for £80.