An earlier version of this story said that drones are about to go postal in Auvergne, a province in south central France.

But unfortunately, it ended up being an April Fools' Day joke.

The "news" was that drone-maker Parrot and local postal service La Poste Group would team up to deliver mail via quadricopter drones as early as May of this year.

Still, drones are becoming more commonplace these days, with thousands of hobbyists building their own and sharing their experiences on sites like DIYdrones.com. Meanwhile, companies like FedEx are anxiously waiting for the day when drones are admitted to standard U.S. air space.

FedEx wants to be able to use drones to transport packages, rather than having to rely on passenger planes. That's because passenger planes need to be pressurized, which is expensive, and they also can't fly in formation, which is much more efficient.

The FAA is working to officially allow the commercial use of drones by 2015, but the drones cannot fly higher than 400 feet above the ground and must be at least five miles away from any airport.