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The plans envisage that the two organisations work together in a number of technology based projects such as massively distributed computing of which Google is an acknowledged world leader, bio-info-nano convergence, and what is referred to as the 'encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry'.

'Our planned partnership presents an enormous range of potential benefits

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to the space programme,' said NASA Ames Centre Director G. Scott Hubbard. 'Just a few examples are new sensors and materials from collaborations on bio-info-nano convergence, improved analysis of engineering problems as well as Earth, life and space science discoveries from supercomputing and data mining, and bringing entrepreneurs into the space programme'

Collaboration has been on the cards for some time. The Google Earth project has and will clearly benefit from NASA co-operation in providing more detailed and up to date images of the planet.

Just a few weeks ago Google hired Vinton 'Vint' Cerf. Although best known as the Father of the Internet, Cerf is a NASA insider who has spent the last few years working on NASA's Interplanetary Network, which aims to extend the Internet into outer space for planet-to-planet communications. (See also: IDF, Fall 2004: Intel CTO sees New Net on the horizon).