COWS may not think it is the real thing but Coca-Cola is set to launch fizzy milk on the world.

The drink contains skimmed milk mixed with sparking water, flavoured with fruit and sweetened with cane sugar.

Scientists have developed the drink at the firm’s laboratories in Atlanta, Georgia, ensuring it will not curdle in its 8oz aluminium bottle.

Going under the name Vio, Coca-Cola has begun test-marketing the carbonated drink at natural food stores and delis in New York It sells for about £1.50 a bottle, no chilling required. One of Coke’s copywriters claims it tastes “like a birthday party for a polar bear”.

It comes in four “natural” flavours — peach mango, berry, citrus and tropical colada — and could even be marketed as a healthy nutritional drink. But it has 26g of sugar a bottle, on a par with other non-diet Coca-Cola products, and 1.5g of fat.

A flavour tester for BevNET.com, a drink industry research site, who tasted the citrus version, said: “It’s big on milk flavour and, as a result, has a somewhat creamy body. It didn’t seem sweet until you consumed almost a whole bottle.”

The drink is part of a wider Coke initiative called Project Life to develop milk-based products. If it is a success in the United States it could be launched globally.

Coca-Cola GB said there were no plans for a British version but added: “We are constantly listening to consumers.”

David Jago, director of insight and innovation at Mintel, the consumer research firm, said: “I suspect it is a bit of a novelty. British people will expect a milk drink to be chilled and will be suspicious if they see it on the shelves.”

Dairy farmers hope the drink could boost milk consumption.

David Cotton, vice-chairman of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, said: “Anything that helps to sell milk is great. If Coca-Cola want to market fizzy milk and give us the odd shilling, we would be very happy.”

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