US agency's balloon hunt tests internet accuracy

Darpa says all 10 balloons are visible from roads (image: Darpa)

The US defense research agency has used 10 redballoons in a contest to assess the accuracy with which informationspreads on the internet.

The giant moored weather balloons were launched on Saturday morning at 10 undisclosed locations across the United States.

More than 4,000 groups competed to be the first to pinpoint all 10.

A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) won the challenge and a prize of $40,000 (£24,000).

JohannaJones, a spokeswoman for the US Defense Advanced Research ProjectsAgency (Darpa), said that beyond the actual contest, the aim was to seewhether social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter should beseen as credible sources of information.

Darpa is no stranger to innovative uses of technology.

The agency - which is part of the US defense department - played a pivotal role in the creation of the internet itself.

Fortyyears on, with the internet in full swing, the same agency was keen tosee if the power of social networking sites - with their tens ofmillions of users - could be used as a credible source to alertauthorities of impending disaster or unrest on US soil.