概要：比爾蓋茨質疑谷歌向第三世界貧困國家推廣網絡並不解決問題，並批評谷歌做慈善「噱頭不小」，但中看不中用。
谷歌推出「谷歌氣球項目」，向12英裡的高空釋放30個直徑達49英尺的熱氣球，熱氣球內安裝信號收發設備，通過環遊全球向48億尚未接入網絡的人們提供3G網絡。谷歌希望藉此幫助不發達國家降低接入網絡的成本，並提高非洲、東南亞等地區的網絡覆蓋率。
蓋茨認為，雖然網絡在促進醫療健康等事業上確實能發揮巨大能量，但是網絡畢竟不能直接解決疾病等迫切問題。他說：「當你身患瘧疾，我想你只能仰望星空看看熱氣球了，我不確定這有多大用處。」
針對蓋茨的批評，谷歌尚未回應。但谷歌做慈善有自己的理念，「谷歌希望自身的核心力量，比如科技創新、全球影響、強大的信息整合和傳播能力等，能發揮最大的價值，並且希望我們創造的方案能最大限度地解決問題。」
Bill Gates criticizes Google's internet balloons set to be flown over Third World countries as he says 『when you're dying of malaria, I'm not sure how it'll help you'
Billionaire philanthropist Gates questioned Google's charity work
Gates, voted the world's richest man this year, donated $750m to fight AIDS, TB and malaria in 2012
Bill Gates has today criticized Google's plan to bring Internet to the Third World with the use of giant balloons, remarking: 『When you’re dying of malaria, I suppose you』ll look up and see that balloon, and I’m not sure how it』ll help you.』
The billionaire Microsoft founder, who last year donated $750million to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, questioned whether bringing the Internet to some of the world's poorest countries really got to the heart of the problem.
In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Gates said that although he was a big supporter of the Internet's power to further healthcare, it did not directly address the problem of disease.
Gates, who was once again crowned the world's richest man in 2013, also criticized Google's track record when it comes to philanthropy.
The Internet search giant's charity work is conducted through Google.org. It launched with much fanfare and was headed up by Larry Brilliant - a former World Health Organization leader - from 2006. He left the position in 2009.
Philanthropists: Since retiring from full-time work with Microsoft, Gates and wife Melinda (pictured) has thrown himself into his philanthropy through his charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which gives aid to some of the most underprivileged countries in the world
Of its charity arm, Google says: 『We focus on problems where Google’s assets and core capabilities - technology innovation, global presence, making massive amounts of information universally accessible and useful - play strongest and where the solutions we create have the most potential to scale.』
Among the company's projects are crisis response for natural disasters, using Google alerts to share information from emergency services and Google Person Finder to help find family and friends.
Gates told Bloomberg: 『Google started out saying they were going to do a broad set of things. They hired Larry Brilliant, and they got fantastic publicity.』And then they shut it all down. Now they’re just doing their core thing. Fine. But the actors who just do their core thing are not going to uplift the poor.'
MailOnline was awaiting a response from Google on Gate's remarks at the time of publication.
Google's Project Loon, sent 30 super-pressure balloons 12 miles up into the air from New Zealand in June. They will sail around the globe at twice the altitude of aeroplanes.
The helium-filled balloons inflate to 49ft in diameter and carry transmitters that could beam 3G-speed internet to some of the 4.8billion people in the world that are not yet online, supplying an area of about 780 square miles - twice the size of New York City.
Project Loon was developed in the company's X Lab by the same team behind Google Glasses and the driverless car.
It is hoped it could save developing countries the high cost of laying fibre cables to get online and lead to a dramatic increase in internet access for the likes of Africa and south-east Asia.
（實習編輯：於曉偉）