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KM3NeT will be a km3-scale neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea. The detector will consist of blocks of about one hundred detection units. Each detection unit will host 18 digital optical modules, connected along a 700 m-long vertical structure. Electro-optical cables allow for data transmission and power supply to the optical modules. The optical module comprises 31 photomultiplier tubes of 3′′, instruments to monitor environmental variables and electronic boards to communicate onshore and operate the photomultipliers. A prototype detection unit has been deployed in May 2014 at the KM3NeT-It installation site 80 km SE offshore of Capo Passero, Sicily. This prototype allowed to test the deployment procedures, the mechanics and the electronic of the apparatus, the data taking and analysis procedures. A general description of the detector and some results of the prototype are presented. The first detection unit of the KM3NeT neutrino telescope will be deployed and become operative by the end of 2015.