Irish users of the social networking site Bebo have been invited to submit messages to a digital time capsule that will be beamed into space this summer.

The project, called 'A Message From Earth', will be officially launched tomorrow and will provide Bebo users from all over the world with the opportunity to send notes, pictures or poems to the planet Gliese 581c – the nearest planet believed to be capable of supporting life.

Any of Bebo's 12 million users are invited to send photographs, drawings or texts on any topic or subject they want. A public internet vote will then be held to choose the top 500 messages which will be transported in a digital time capsule to the planet Gliese 581c, which is 20.5 light years away. It is thought the capsule will reach its destination in the spring of 2029.

"Basically, we're trying to send a postcard from Earth," said Adam Freedman, a spokesman for RDF Media, the company behind the plan. "We want it to be a snapshot of our earth the way it is at the moment. Any message can be submitted. It can be a photo of David Beckham, a poem about your boyfriend, a drawing of your house, your thoughts on the environment, whatever you want. The more variation the better."

The news is likely to attract considerable attention from Ireland's one million Bebo users, as the site is one of the most trafficked websites in the country.

In order to ensure the project is a success, Bebo and RDF Media have teamed up with one of the world's experts in interstellar radio communication, Dr Alexander Zaitsev. He will use a Ukrainian radio telescope – normally use to identify asteroids that pose a threat to earth – to beam the messages into deep space on a 120 trillion-mile journey. The digital capsule will travel to its destination at light speed, passing the moon in just 1.7 seconds.

Commenting on the likelihood of the capsule being received by any intelligent life form, Zaitsev said he thought it was possible. "Over the last few years, scientists have made a number of discoveries that significantly increase its likelihood," he said.

"The target planet Gliese 581c was the first that was discovered where the temperature is right for liquid water on its surface, thus potentially capable of supporting life as we know it."

As well as messages from Bebo users, scientists, politicians and celebrities will also be invited to make a submission to the capsule. The web vote will run until 30 September and the capsule will be beamed into space on 9 October.

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amessagefromearth