Thought this press release from Google may be of interest. It was released June 12, 2006 US time.
RegardsMOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - June 12, 2006 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)
today announced a series of updates to the company's mapping product
suite, further illustrating Google's commitment to creating powerful
tools for sharing geographic information. Announced live at Google's
first Geo Developer Day, these innovations both connect users to
information about the world around them, as well as address the growing
needs of the developer community.
"We are excited to celebrate the one year anniversary of Google Earth
and the Google Maps API with new technologies for these products," said
John Hanke, director, Google Earth and Maps. "In the past year, we have
had more than 100 million unique Google Earth downloads and have
enabled over 30,000 websites to create mash-ups combining their own
geographic data with the Google Maps API. The enthusiasm of the
geo-developer community encourages us that these geo-based tools are
connecting users to information in new and innovative ways."
Google Earth news announced today includes:
· Satellite imagery update: A significant high-resolution imagery
update for Google Earth increases the product's index of
high-resolution imagery by four times. This makes sub-meter
high-resolution imagery available for more than one third of the
world's population. While initially available only in Google Earth,
this database will also be accessible in Google Maps shortly.
· New version of Google Earth: In the product's first major update
since its launch one year ago, Google Earth now features a more
streamlined user interface and new tools that enable the creation and
display of third party and user generated content. The addition of
textured buildings brings a new level of realism and detail to Google
Earth's 3D world. Google Earth is also now available for the Windows,
Mac and, for the first time, Linux operating platforms; and is fully
localized in French, Italian, German and Spanish.
· Google SketchUp with textured buildings: In coordination with the
release of Google Earth, Google SketchUp now enables the creation of
textured buildings for visualization in Google Earth and the Google 3D
Warehouse.
Google also announced several updates to Google Maps and the Google
Maps API (Application Programming Interface), the developer tool that
enables users to easily embed Google's interactive, dynamic maps into
their own websites. These innovations include:
· Google Maps API: In response to developer feedback, an update to
the Google Maps API enables developers of Google Maps-powered mash-ups,
or websites that merge geographic information with Google Maps, to
integrate data based on addresses. This ability to geocode addresses
using the Google Maps API is the most requested feature from Maps API
users.
· KML for Google Maps: A new feature of Google Maps enables the
display of KML (Keyhole Markup Language, the file format used by Google
Earth and other applications to share geographic information) on Google
Maps. This innovation enables data created in Google Earth to be viewed
in a web browser as a simple mash-up. Requiring no computer programming
expertise, KML for Google Maps makes the sharing of geographic
information even easier.
· Google Maps for Enterprise: Addressing the needs of the enterprise
community, Google announced fee-based licensing and support for
businesses wanting to embed a Google Maps experience in websites or
internal applications. Leveraging the Google Maps API, this product
enables businesses to map customer locations, track shipments, manage
facilities or view any other data source in a geographic context.
Google Earth is available at http://earth.google.com/. The Google Maps
API is available at http://www.google.com/apis/maps/.
Andrew[/quote]
, checking out the area around Kapunda for an event weekend. 
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