The Google game is on.
A crowd gathered on Wednesday at Mote Marine Laboratory Aquarium to watch Mayor Dick Clapp do something the 66-year-old, retired engineer never imagined - take a dip in a tank full of sharks.
Clapp decided to spend a few minutes with a handful of young bonnethead sharks to answer a challenge by Don Ness, the mayor of Duluth, Minn., who jumped into the icy waters of Lake Superior last week to show his devotion to Google.
Google recently invited cities to submit bids to become test sites for a high-speed Internet service that is 100 times faster than current delivery systems. Google wants to work in partnership with existing providers.
Sarasota officials think that landing the technology would help lure new companies to the area.
To woo Google, Sarasota has changed the name of City Island to Google Island, and the Daiquiri Deck on Siesta Key is offering the Google Daiquiri.
It doesn't stop there, the Pacific Rim restaurant just rolled out the Google Roll, and City Manager Robert Bartolotta has renamed himself Robert Googleotta.
To vote for Sarasota, go to www.googleisland.net.
Some of the other cities courting Google are Huntington, W.Va.; Naperville, Ill.; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; and Palo Alto, Calif.
Topeka, Kan., another contender, changed its name to Google for a month.
Google will decide in about nine months which municipalities have made the first cut.
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