Google's internet-beaming Project Loon balloons are now being tested in Sri Lanka
The Mountain View internet giant is reportedly trialling three new internet delivery balloons in Sri Lanka ahead of a joint venture with the Sri Lankan government.
One of the three balloons entered Sri Lankan airspace on Monday, according to the government's information and communications technology chief, Muhunthan Canagey.
A team of Google employees are due to arrive in Sri Lanka later this week, according to Canagey.
The balloons, which were launched from South America, according to AFP, have travelled vast distances to get to Sri Lanka.
Google says on the Project Loon website that two-thirds of the world's population does not yet have internet access.
Project Loon is a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to connect people in rural and remote areas, help fill coverage gaps, and bring people back online after disasters.
Trials have also taken place in the Australian Outback and Indonesia.
The government of Sri Lanka is taking a 25% stake in Project Loon Sri Lanka. In return, it has pledged to give Google spectrum for the project.
Once in the stratosphere, the balloons, which have a lifespan of 180 days will be twice as high as commercial airliners and hard to see from the surface of the Earth.
Sri Lankan officials involved with the project claim they will be able to recycle the balloons.
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