谷歌与古巴签署互联网合作协议

Google signed an agreement with the Cuban government on Monday granting internet users on the Communist-run island quicker access to its branded content.

Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google's parent company, signed the deal with the president of state telecommunications monopoly ETECSA. It grants Cubans speedy access to the Google Global Cache network, which stores content from sites such as Gmail and YouTube on servers located closer to end users.

In a country where public internet access is limited to slow and expensive Wi-Fi hot spots, it was not clear how the deal would affect service in the short term.

The Google deal comes as officials in Havana and Washington are working to wrap up pending commercial accords before President Barack Obama leaves office next month.