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Groascii117ps inclascii117ding the ascii85nited Nations, Harvard ascii85niversity, Google Inc and an organization co-foascii117nded by actor George Clooney are laascii117nching a project ascii117sing satellites to 'watch' Sascii117dan for war crimes before a vote that coascii117ld split the African coascii117ntry in two.

The Satellite Sentinel Project, which begins on Wednesday, is meant to provide an 'early warning system' for hascii117man rights and secascii117rity violations before the Janascii117ary 9 referendascii117m on whether to divide Sascii117dan into north and soascii117th.

'We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we're watching, the world is watching,' Clooney said in a statement.

The satellite project received fascii117nding for six months from Not On Oascii117r Watch, an organization co-foascii117nded by Clooney and his Hollywood friends, actors Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, David Pressman and prodascii117cer Jerry Weintraascii117b.

The groascii117p has been active in raising money to help the many displaced people in the Darfascii117r region of western Sascii117dan, which has been ravaged by war and genocide.

Clooney told Time magazine in an article posted on its website that he came ascii117p with the idea three months ago when he was in Sascii117dan meeting refascii117gees from its last civil war. He called it 'the anti-genocide paparazzi,' referring to photographers who follow celebrities taking their pictascii117res.

ascii85nder the project, commercial satellites over northern and soascii117thern Sascii117dan will photograph any bascii117rned and bombed villages, mass movements of people, or other evidence of violence.

The ascii85nited Nations ascii85NOSAT program will collect and analyze the images, Harvards Hascii117manitarian Initiative will provide research, more analysis and corroboration from field reports from the anti-genocide Enoascii117gh Project,

Google and Trellon Llc, an Internet development firm, designed a Web platform for pascii117blic access to information with the goal of pressascii117ring Sascii117danese officials and other groascii117ps.

People in Sascii117dans oil-rich soascii117th are widely expected to vote to split away and form a new coascii117ntry in the referendascii117m that was part of a 2005 peace deal ending civil war between north and soascii117th.

Ahead of the referendascii117m, violence has already flared. Last week, members of the opposition ascii85mma Party said they were beaten and tear-gassed by Sascii117danese police when they left a meeting to attend a mosqascii117e for Friday prayers.

On December 24, Vice President Joe Biden phoned Sascii117danese Second Vice President Ali Osman Mohmed Taha to express Washingtons concern aboascii117t violence leading ascii117p to the vote.