Two broken undersea cables have wiped out Internet access for users across Northern Africa and South Asia. The cables, with the unassuming names SEA-ME-WE-4 and FLAG, appear to have broken off the northern coast of Egypt on Wednesday. It's thought the cables run between Egypt and Italy, and are part of a chain that carries most Internet traffic between Europe and the Middle East.

95% of Internet data sent across oceans is now carried by undersea cables. The effects have reached across the Arab Gulf states and into India. Egypt's telecommunication minister, speaking at a ceremony to announce a new Egypt-France cable, said his country's Internet access should be back to 50% capacity by the end of Thursday and 75% by the weekend. (Source: guardian.co.uk)

Alternative cables and satellite coverage are making up the shortfall until the cables are fixed, which could take at least a week. The cause of the break is still unknown, though heavy storms that forced the closure of the Suez canal may have played a part. The storms are also delaying efforts to fix the cables. (Source: bbc.co.uk)

As well as leaving home Internet users with slow or no access, the fault disrupted Egypt's financial markets and call centres.

By Thursday, 50% of India's bandwidth was still affected. It has caused problems for the country's $50 billion offshore outsourcing industry, where Indian firms provide IT and other support for overseas firms -- particularly on the east coast of the United States and in Britain.

Some countries have escaped the problems. Israel receives its Internet traffic via a different route, while Lebanon and Iraq are thought to have back-up satellite systems.

It's a reminder that, however high-tech the Internet may be, it's still a giant telephone network at heart and physical problems can wreak havoc for a virtual world.