  The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is a project
dedicated to global studies of extremely extended cosmic-ray phenomena, the
cosmic-ray ensembles (CRE), beyond the capabilities of existing detectors and
observatories. Up to date cosmic-ray research has been focused on detecting
single air showers, while the search for ensembles of cosmic-rays, which may
overspread a significant fraction of the Earth, is a scientific terra
incognita. Instead of developing and commissioning a completely new global
detector infrastructure, CREDO proposes approaching the global cosmic-ray
analysis objectives with all types of available detectors, from professional to
pocket size, merged into a worldwide network. With such a network it is
possible to search for evidences of correlated cosmic-ray ensembles. One of the
observables that can be investigated in CREDO is a number of spatially isolated
events collected in a small time window which could shed light on fundamental
physics issues. The CREDO mission and strategy requires active engagement of a
large number of participants, also non-experts, who will contribute to the
project by using common electronic devices (e.g. smartphones). In this note the
status and perspectives of the project is presented.
