The semi-exponential basis set of radial functions (A.M. Frolov, Physics Letters A 374, 2361(2010) is used for variational computations of bound states in three-electron atomic systems.It appears that semi-exponential basis set has a substantially greater potential for accurate variational computations of bound states in three-electron atomic systems than it was originally anticipated. In particular, the 40-term Larson's wave function improved with the use of semi-exponential radial basis functions now produces the total energy -7.47805413551 a.u. for the ground 1 2 S−state in the ∞ Li atom (only one spin function χ 1 = αβα − βαα was used in these calculations). This variational energy is very close to the exact ground state energy of the ∞ Li atom and it substantially lower than the total energy obtained with the original Larson's 40-term wave function (-7.477944869 a.u.). PACS number(s): 03.65.Ge, 31.15.ac and 31.15.xf *