Microsoft's Bill Gates is backing a start-up that will provide 'live and unfiltered' high definition footage of every inch of Earth.

The startup, EarthNow, plans to launch 500 satellites to cover Earth's atmosphere in 'Big Brother' real-time video surveillance.

As well as Gates, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and aerospace giant Airbus are also backing the project.

The price of the project could run to $1 billion (£700m), although the value of the investment by the companies has not been disclosed.

Applications could including tracking illegal fishing, monitoring the weather and tracking natural migrations globally.

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Microsoft's Bill Gates is backing a start-up that will provide 'live and unfiltered' high definition footage of every inch of Earth. The startup, EarthNow, plans to launch 500 satellites to cover Earth's atmosphere in 'Big Brother' real-time video surveillance

EarthNow founder Russel Hannigan said: 'Our objective is simple; we want to connect you visually with Earth in real-time.'

'We believe the ability to see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered will help all of us better appreciate and ultimately care for our one and only home.'

The company is based in Bellevue, Washington and was founded in 2017.

It plans to use an army of orbiting satellites will weigh around 500 pounds (225 kg) each that will have their cameras trained on Earth 24 hours a day.

It will onboard analysis of the imagery, though to what extent isn't clear.

There is also currently no clear timeline, price-tag or technical details about the project.

This mock-up of one of the satellites could show what the programme will look like if it progresses from its current conceptual stage. An army of 500 orbiting satellites weighing around 500 pounds (225 kg) each will all have their cameras trained on Earth 24/7

EarthNow will offer its stream and intelligent vision services to a range of government and enterprise customers. At the same time, it expects to allow civilians to access the video from a smartphone or tablet

With ambitious plans to save the world, it has attracted billionaire backers in the form of the Microsoft founder and OneWeb executive chairman Greg Wyler. Gates will be investing his own personal wealth into the project, but companies Airbus and Softbank are also on-board

EarthNow's services will initially be aimed at 'high value enterprise and government customers.

However, the firm says it also expected to allow civilians to access the video from a smartphone or tablet.

'We are excited by the prospect of giving everyone a stunningly beautiful real-time window on your world from space,' Mr Hannigan said.

'With EarthNow, we will all become virtual astronauts.'