HUNTSVILLE, AL -- The Rocket City is applying to become a test market for Google's new ultra-high speed broadband network,

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Wayne Brooks, Huntsville's interim information technology services director, said he is working with the Chamber of Commerce to gather all sorts of information requested by Google, including income levels, the percentage of high-tech jobs and existing Internet connection speeds here.

Cities competing for Google Fiber -- and there are many, including Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. -- have until March 26 to turn in their applications. Google plans to build and test the fiberoptic network in one or more trial communities later this year, serving as many as 500,000 people.

It will deliver Internet speeds 100 times faster than what most Americans currently have access to, Google says.

"I'm going to try to provide them with the best picture I possibly can of Huntsville so they'll want to come," Brooks said this morning. "We're definitely giving it the old college try."

Mayor Tommy Battle plans to create a "Get Google" task force in the coming days to rally community support for Huntsville's application.

You can get behind the idea now by joining the "Google4HSV" fan page on Facebook. Started by Huntsville resident Peyton McNully, it already has more than 2,800 members.

"This is a high-tech town. We've got more than enough knowledge" to be Google's test market, said McNully, who runs a Web applications team at L3 Communications. "I think we've definitely got a shot."