Use your PC to search for alien life

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (Seti) programme is developing software to assist in the search for alien life forms.

The University of California will launch a Web site at the end of the year which allows users to download chunks of data gathered from the world's largest telescope in Puerto Rico. The software then uses the subscriber's PC to process the data and feed it back to the University.

Ian Morrison, senior engineer at UK radio telescope complex, Jodrell Bank, said: "What they are doing is using home users' PCs, with the software installed so when the PC is not being used, the software can pull in data from the world's biggest telescope, the Arecibo in Puerto Rico, and analyse the data. Once the data is analysed it is then sent to the research department in California for further analytical work."

Morrison said the main reason behind doing this is that in the US "there is no charge for local calls".

The information received from the telescope comes via the 'piggyback' system. This is when Seti places a receiver under one of the telescope's multiple focal points to extract signals to sample for no cost. This is done when other scientists are looking to the skies.