Software Browses Web Sans Connection

A Seattle startup Monday launched software that lets users search and view Web sites stored on smart phones or laptops without connecting to the Internet.

Webaroo debuted a beta version of its namesake software Monday, and made it available for free download.

Essentially a caching application, Webaroo -- which works only on Windows XP or 2000 and can store sites only on Pocket PC-powered PDAs and phones -- grabs user-selected sites and the content of their links when the hardware is online. The process is similar to the pre-fetching that dial-up Internet connection accelerators use.

Offline, users can then view those sites and/or search through the content of those sites using a bundled search engine.

Webaroo also debuted what it called "'web packs," pre-defined collections of content subjects such as news, sports and information on major cities, including New York, London, and Amsterdam.The program can be set to automatically update sites the next time the laptop or mobile device connects to the Web.

In related news, the Seattle-based company announced that Taiwan-based computer maker Acer will bundle Webaroo on its laptops.