[MovedGoalPosts]

So, your laptop can connect wired by ethernet to the router, which in turn is connected, wired, to the modem, and thus you can browse, wired, the internet.

Only issue then is to enable the wireless application on the router, and the laptop.

The router may have been supplied with a CD that assists you with the setup process. Have you tried it? Is wireless actually running yet on your router.

Have you enabled the wireless adaptor on you laptop? If you have enabled it, try initially setting the router without any encryption and see if you can get a wireless connection that way, adding encryptions (WEP) later.