Bill Gates questions Google's Project Loon

But speaking to Business Week, Gates said there were more pressing issues affecting poorer countries and expressed disappointment that Google had “shut down” other projects in developing countries.

“When you’re dying of malaria, I suppose you’ll look up and see that balloon, and I’m not sure how it’ll help you,” he said.

“When a kid gets diarrhoea, no, there’s no website that relieves that. Certainly I’m a huge believer in the digital revolution. And connecting up primary-healthcare centres, connecting up schools, those are good thing.

“But no, those are not, for the really low-income countries, unless you directly say we’re going to do something about malaria.”

The interview with Gates was about the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, which has committed £1.3bn towards research into treatments for malaria, diagnosis and mosquito-control technologies. Gates has been involved in the fight against malaria for years.

He added: “Google started out saying they were going to do a broad set of things. They hired Larry Brilliant, and they got fantastic publicity.

“And then they shut it all down. Now they’re just doing their core thing. Fine, but that actors who just do their core thing are not going to uplift the poor.”

Google has worked with organisations in recent years to address healthcare problems in developing countries through Google.org.

Through Project Loon, Google hopes it may be possible to have a fleet of balloons able to provide internet access around the world.