KOBE, Japan, Jan 14 (AFP) - A modern-day Zeppelin billed as the world's largest blimp entered the skies over Japan on Friday on a test run of an airship hoped to draw both tourists and advertisers.
The 75-meter (246-foot) long Zeppelin NT, designed in Germany by the descendant of Ferdinand von Zeppelin, took to the air for about 40 minutes from the western Japanese city of Kobe.
The white blimp flew over the site of the World Expo which opens in the Aichi region in March and carried a promotion for the event which is due to showcase more recent technological marvels.
The airship was bought by Nippon Airship Corp., a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Japan's biggest shipping firm Nippon Yusen, which said it will initially use the Zeppelin to show corporate advertisements.
"We will then use it to offer joy flights to sightseeing places" in one to two years time, Nippon Airship spokeswoman Satomi Nakatomi said.
The company will also let it be used for telecommunications in the event that earthquakes or other natural disasters destroy infrastructure, she said.
The blimp was brought by sea from Italy through the Suez Canel via the same route taken in 1929 by Count Zeppelin. It was built by German constructor Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik, the successor of the man who pioneered the rigid airship in the early 20th century.
The manufacturer initially hoped the Zeppelin could fly to Japan, but an attempt in July got no further than Helsinki when Russia declined to authorize use of its airspace.
01/14/2005 12:37 GMT - AFP