Six Italian scuba divers to live underwater for two weeks

Six Italian scuba divers are set to live underwater for two weeks at a depth of fifteen metres (49 feet), in an effort to demonstrate it is possible for human beings to colonise the sea-bed, according to organisers.

The divers, in teams of two, will be assigned one of three "diving bells" as their private room where they will go through their daily routine, from physiological needs to medical monitoring.

"What we want to do is live with the sea life without altering the ecosystem," said Corrado Costanzo, the Underwater House Project's medical coordinator.

In video provided by the project the bells could be seen under construction.

Organisers say the underwater house complex will be largely self-sufficient.

Energy to the complex will be provided by solar panels on the water's surface. Sweet water will be obtained by desalinising sea water.

The diving bells will be anchored to the sea bed using 100-thousand kilogrammes (220,462 pounds) of ballast and 14 kilometres (8.7 miles) of cables and hoses.

A fourth diving bell will be used as a common room where at set hours they will have to cook, eat, take care of their underwater gear and manage their limited resources during the 336-hour-long mission.

"I think I'll take a book with me, a frisbee, we are going to bring playing cards, and an MP3 player, if I can find a waterproof model. I'll try to spend time as well as possible," diver Luca Giordani told AP Television News.

Another team member, Isabella Moreschi, said the six divers had formed a good relationship over the preparation period.

"The other guys, the other divers are so united, we met during medical checks in this period and we have been creating a nice and funny team. I think we won't have problems supporting each other," she said.

The six divers will have to provide for their own food, as well as perform monitoring tasks in the sea water.

They will spend 70 per cent of their time in the water using especially made diving suits and full face breathing masks.

The divers will take to the water on Saturday on the island of Ponza, off the Italian coast near Rome.