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Elizabeth Dunbar
St. Paul, Minn.

Videos: Cities try to get Google's attention in competition for ultra-high speed Internet network

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Cities across the country are competing for the chance to have Google test out its new ultra-high speed Internet network in their communities.

Some, including Duluth, have gotten creative with their campaigns to attract support for the effort. Here are some highlights from what turned out to be quite a public relations competition.

--Duluth kicked off its effort with a YouTube video featuring Mayor Don Ness taking a plunge into icy Lake Superior.

--The mayor of Topeka, Kan., issued a proclamation stating his city would be known as "Google, Kansas, the Capital City of Fiber Optics" for the month of March.

--Duluth responds to Topeka's action by declaring, in jest, that all first-born males born in Duluth will be named Google Fiber and all first-born females born in Duluth will be named Googlette Fiber.

--Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm met in March with Google officials in California to persuade them to try out the new high-speed fiber network in Michigan.

--Sarasota, Fla., decided to poke fun at both Topeka and Duluth with its own set of videos, including one with a song about "Google Island" and another declaring Sarasota paradise after showing images of snow and wind-swept plains.

--Columbia, Mo., handed out signs to 15,000 fans heading to a University of Missouri basketball game. The signs were displayed during the first timeout of the second half.

--Holland, Mich., posted a YouTube video explaining how the city's plan includes installing fiber-optic cables in the sewer system. The animation features water-drip sound effects and a weird guy with a picture of a toilet paper roll on his chest.