–FILE–Bottles of Coca-Cola drinks are for sale at a supermarket in Xuchang city, central Chinas Henan province, 4 August 2012.
The government of a remote province in western China says it is investigating Coca-Cola over allegations that it illegally mapped parts of the province, as China and the US engage in an escalating war of words over cyber espionage. The Yunnan Geographical Information Bureau of Surveying and Mapping said the US drinks company had been illegally collecting classified information with handheld GPS equipment, according to a Yunnan government website. Coca-Cola said it had co-operated fully with the inquiry, adding that local bottling plants use e-map and location-based customer logistics systems that are commercially available in China to improve customer service and fuel efficiency. The Yunnan government said the Coca-Cola case was one of 21 instances of alleged illegal surveying under investigation in the area, which also included others illegal sales of classified military maps online, aerial photography by unmanned aircraft, and illegal surveying of military bases.(Imaginechina via AP Images)
