A plan to send a digital time capsule into space by laser from an ancient site is back on after Mexican officials put a halt to it earlier this month.

Yahoo Inc. began beaming the contents of its electronic time capsule into space on Wednesday night while the contents were projected onto the canyon walls around the Jemez pueblo, about 75 kilometres north of Albuquerque, N.M.

People from more than 200 countries have contributed some 70,000 pictures, video, writing, art and sounds to Yahoo for a time capsule. Submissions are being accepted until Nov. 8.People from more than 200 countries have contributed some 70,000 pictures, video, writing, art and sounds to Yahoo for a time capsule. Submissions are being accepted until Nov. 8.
(Brian Kersey/Associated Press)

The plan had called for the light show and laser transmission to occur at the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, about 40 kilometres northeast of Mexico City.

Mexican officials rejected the proposal, fearing the project could damage the nearly 2,000-year-old monument, which is designated a world heritage site by the UN cultural agency UNESCO.

The time capsule light show and laser transmission are slated to continue through Friday night at the Jemez pueblo. Archeological evidence suggests that people started settling in the area as early as 880 BC.

On Oct. 10, Yahoo began collecting text, images, audio and video from people around the world for inclusion in the time capsule.

After Nov. 8, the collected data is to be preserved by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings and Smithsonian Global Sound of Washington, D.C., to be studied by researchers.