Opera Software today announced that the Nintendo DS Browser powered by Opera is now available in Europe.

Packaged just like a Nintendo DS game cartridge, the Nintendo DS Browser is sold at an estimated retail price of ?39.99 in all major games retailers. The Nintendo DS Browser is available as a standard DS cartridge and comes in two versions. One version is for the classic Nintendo DS and a smaller version is available to fit the slimmed down Nintendo DS Lite.

Opera's browser for Nintendo DS is a customized Web experience that utilizes both screens for surfing as well as the unique touch capabilities of the popular gaming device. European users of the Nintendo DS browser can access all their favorite Web sites from Wi-Fi environments at home, at one of Nintendo's free Wi-Fi Connection Hotspots and public access Hotspots.

Opera offers two rendering modes for surfing from the Nintendo DS. For a faster surfing experience, Opera recommends fit-to-width mode, a mode made popular by Opera's browser for mobile phones. This mode displays the entire contents of the page in a single column that stretches between the two screens on the Nintendo DS. By disabling the images while in this mode, browsing speed can be improved even more.

Users can also choose surf in DS mode, in which an overview of the Web page is displayed on the lower screen and a colored thumbnail can be moved around an area of the page. The area you have selected is magnified and shown on the upper screen.