connect to wifi using usb dongle

hi

i have a dell inspiron 1545 without wifi. i'm presently at a place which has good wifi strength. i have a universal usb dongle (data card) to connect on to the net using 3g SIM. i was thinking of getting myself a wifi adaptor/usb dongle. some of my friends suggested that i can use the usb dongle (data card) for the purpose. is it possible and how can i go about doing the same.

my sys specs are:

del inspiron 1545
2gb ram, 250 gb HDD
Vista Home Basic OS

Thank uu