There is a state-controlled search engine in the works in Russia. It’s name is Sputnik and while it won’t be housing its data in orbit, it does need to hit the stratosphere in order to work.
The government has made moves to boost control over the Internet, but a state-backed search engine, to be called www.sputnik.ru, would face leading search engine company Yandex, with 62 percent of the market, U.S. giant Google and Mail.Ru.
“Search engines are a completely different area from the telecoms service business in which Rostelecom is involved,” said VTB analyst Ivan Kim in a research note. “With its lack of expertise, the venture is unlikely to meet with success.”