British billionaire Richard Branson has turned to Google Earth in a bid to find his missing friend Steve Fossett.Mr Fossett went missing on Monday after failing to return from a flight across the Nevada desert to locate a dry river bed where he could attempt the world land speed record.
Planes searched for the 63-year-old aviator on Wednesday. However, amid high wind speeds, the search effort proved unsuccessful.
In a new development, Richard Branson, a long-time supporter of Mr Fossett, has called on the search engine giant Google to assist in the search process.
The business tycoon told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) that he believes the single-engine aircraft being piloted by Mr Fossett may have suffered engine failure.
He commented: "If [the engine is] going to die on anybody, he's the right person for it to die on because he's such a brilliant glider pilot."
Mr Branson added that he is working with Google in the hope that satellite imagery can be used to track Mr Fossett's flight, saying that he "still feel[s] confident that Steve will come back and if we can find him in the next 24 hours, that we'll see him doing many wonderful events in the future".
According to a US aviation official, the process of locating the missing American has been complicated by the fact that he did not file a flight plan, the CBC reports.
Mr Fossett, who made his money in the financial services industry, is known for his world record breaking feats, including his five non-stop circumnavigations of the globe.
