The Cocos Islands - also known as the Keeling Islands - are an atoll of 27 islands midway between Australia and Sri Lanka, and are home to around 600 people.
The region is billed to tourists as 'Australia's last unspoiled paradise.'
Despite being more than 3,500kms northwest of the Australian mainland, the dialling code is +61, the same as Australia, and the area code is 08 - like Western Australia's.
The islands are a territory of Australia, and the official language is English, but most residents speak a dialect of Malay and are Sunni Muslims.
They are known as Cocos Malay or Cocos Islanders.
Only two of the islands are inhabited, and they are both in the South Keeling atoll - a ring of 24 islets.
North Keeling Island is a national park, and the last refuge the Cocos Buff-banded Rail, a rare bird species.
The islands are currently governed by Administrator Brian Lacy and Shire President Aindil Milkom.
US DRONE PLANS
Recent reports indicated that the United States is considering establishing a military base in cooperation with Australia on the atoll, where unmanned drones would be stationed.
However, despite apparent enthusiasm from the US, Defence Minister Stephen Smith said any developments would take a long time, as major infrastructure must be built.
The unmanned patrol planes would liley carry out surveillance of the South China sea - the world's busiest shipping route.
The drone program is part of expanding Australian-US cooperation, after a deal was signed allowing the US to rotate troops through northern Australia last year.
CLIMATE CHANGE FEARS
In 2010, the Cocos Shire Council submitted a report to a federal parliamentart inquiry, expressing concern that climate change may make the islands uninhabitable.
There has been a slow and continual increase in the in the sea level, which has been has been noticeable during episodes of higher-than-predicted high tides.
High tides have caused flooding in low lying areas and raised the saline level of the fresh water resources on Home Island.
There is no fresh water on the island.
Recently, The Australian newspaper reported that islanders were hoping that sales of salt they had extracted from the sea using traditional methods would break the unemployment cycle on the islands.
The main market for the salt were 'foodies' - or gourmands - on the Aussie mainland.
HISTORY
Cocossians are the descendants of Malay workers brought to the then-uninhabited region in the early 1800s by Scottish ship captain, John Clunies-Ross.
Clunies-Ross claimed the islands, declaring them to be administered by Britain. They were also briefly made a protectorate of Singapore, before being transferred to Australian sovereignty in 1955.
However, the Clunies-Ross family effectively maintained control of the Cocos Islands for decades, and some of their descendants still live there.
In 2010, John George Clunies-Ross told SBS Radio he believed Cocos Malay people had been happy with the way his family ruled the islands, despite allegations in the 1970s they were treating the Malays like slaves.
The subject of the Clunies-Ross family still divides the locals, according to former tourism board chief Ray Marshall, who says that unemployment skyrocketed from zero to 68 per cent after they relinquished control.
ECONOMY
The Cocos Islands are plagued by economic problems and poor infrastructure.
Many Cocos Malay have moved to mainland Australia in pursuit of work.
Numbers have dwindled from 3,000 to the current population of just under 600.
The islands have no resources, and rely on tourism and government handouts to survive.
