GPRS modem connection

I have a Nokia 6610i mobile phone which has GPRS access via the Virgin Mobile network and is infrared enabled only. My HP Pavillion Laptop DV1170 which is bluetooth and not infrared enabled therefore cannot 'connect' with this mobile. So I bought a USB cable with software to connect the two. The virgin network have subsequently told me that their GPRS service is only available on mobile phones and not to be used on a phone as a modem connection for a computer. They cannot give me any settings that the software requires to complete the setup. Does this make any sense?