An entrepreneur has set up a brand new search engine which allows internet users to support sanitation and fresh water projects for developing countries by simply searching the web.

22-year-old Andrea Demichelis, of Vernon road, Leytonstone, has launched the search engine Elliot for Water.

While most other search engines make money adverts, 60 per cent of the profits made by Elliot for Water will go towards sanitation projects in developing countries.

The local charity partners implementing the projects will not take a fee from Elliot for Water, but instead will benefit from the latest water purification technology from Solwa Srl - an organisation that provides innovative solar powered equipment.

Elliot for Water comes at a time when over 600 million people do not have access to clean water, and around 2.5 billion are without adequate sanitation.

As a result, millions die each year from water-related diseases.

It is because of this water crisis that Elliot for Water was formed.

Mr Demichelis said: “I set up Elliot for Water because I wanted to show people that they can make a tangible and positive impact on the world by doing something that they do every day.

“With Elliot for Water, helping others has never been easier.

“As the search engine is powered by Yahoo! you can still enjoy the internet as you normally would, but knowing that your simple searches may be saving lives.”

“People can also be confident that we are working with small, local charities, so the revenue from their clicks won’t get lost in larger charities which have bigger overheads, so the people that need it most are getting the maximum benefit.”

Though newly launched, Elliot for Water hopes to become the default search engine for many.

Mr Demichelis adds: “I would urge people to use Elliot for Water, as they can make an impact straight away.

“After all, if you have the opportunity to save lives by simply searching the web, wouldn’t you take it?”

View the new search engine here: http://www.elliotforwater.com/