Google is getting into the emerging market for solar-powered drones, competing with rival Facebook, as both companies look for new ways for get more of the world?s population online. Google on Monday said it agreed to buy Titan Aerospace, a company that is building drones it hopes will fly using the power of the sun. Facebook was in talks with the firm earlier this year, but ended up buying another startup, called Ascenta.

The idea is to get a fleet of these unmanned aircraft and beam a wireless internet service to areas where internet connectivity is limited.

"At Titan Aerospace, we're passionate believers in the potential for technology (and in particular, atmospheric satellites) to improve people's lives. It's still early days for the technology we're developing, and there are a lot of ways that we think we could help people, whether it's providing internet connections in remote areas or helping monitor environmental damage like oil spills and deforestation. That's why we couldn't be more excited to learn from and work with our new colleagues as we continue our research, testing and design work as part of the Google family," TItan Aerospace said.

Titan is developing solar-powered "atmospheric satellites," which fly at an altitude of 65,000 feet and can remain aloft for up to five years.