Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg has announced that he is working with the United Nations to bring the internet to Syrian refugee camps.

The social network's CEO told UN representatives in a speech on Saturday that he believed the internet was a 'force for peace'.

He added that it would help refugees get better support from the aid community and help them maintain links to family and loved ones, according to CNET.

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On Saturday, Mark Zuckerberg (above) spoke at the United Nations and vowed to bring Internet access to refugee camps

Zuckerberg, pictured on a large screen as he spoke at the meeting in New York, said that bringing Facebook to migrants would help them keep in touch with loved ones

Zuckerberg, 31, was addressing the Private Sector Forum at the world body's headquarters in New York.

He cited research that claimed that for every ten people who gain access to the internet, one person is lifted out of poverty.

'The Internet is more than just a network of machines, it is the key driver of social and economic progress in our time,' said Zuckerberg in his speech.

'A like or a post won't stop a tank or a bullet, but when people are connected, we have the chance to build a common global community with a shared understanding.'

It's unclear exactly how Zuckerberg would bring Internet connectivity and Facebook to the hundreds of thousands of refugees living in camps.

The largest refugee population is from war-torn Syria - where Facebook, incidentally, is banned. An estimated four million Syrians have fled from the country since 2011.

Around 80,000 of them live in just one refugee camp - the Zaatari in northern Jordan.

Before his speech, Zuckerberg posted this message to his Facebook page, saying: 'By giving people access to the tools, knowledge and opportunities of the internet, we can give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless'

These Syrians who arrived in Greece this month are among the estimated four million who have fled their war-torn country

Facebook, along with Google, has been engaging in a concentrated effort to build more satellites and other craft that can beam internet services to remote towns and villages.

On Friday, Zuckerberg and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates led a high-powered contingent whose goal is to bring the internet access to everyone in the world by 2020 - part of a U.N. effort to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030, according to USA Today.

In 2013, Facebook launched Internet.org with the goal of bringing affordable internet access to anyone with a phone.

Refugees at a temporary camp in Freilassing, Germany, on Saturday after crossing from the Austrian border

Migrants arriving by bus from Croatia walk towards buses in Hungary on Saturday as part of a flood of immigrants entering Europe from the Middle East and Africa

However, Zuckerburg admitted on Saturday: 'It’s not all altruism. We all benefit when we are more connected ' - implying that more Facebook users equals more profit for the company, reported the New York Times.

Facebook currently has 1.44billion active monthly users, according to VentureBeat, a 13 per cent increase from last year.

Zuckerberg, who has always maintained that his company's goal is connecting everyone on the planet, said on Saturday: 'Connecting the world is one of the fundamental challenges of our generation.'

Before his speech, he updated his Facebook page with a message saying: 'By giving people access to the tools, knowledge and opportunities of the internet, we can give a voice to the voiceless and power to the powerless.'