Google Earth 6 - with added trees

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 30 November 2010 15:12

Your IT - Entertainment

The latest version of Google Earth integrates Street View and includes 3D species-specific models of trees. It also provides more convenient access to historical imagery.

A key feature of Google Earth 6 is the full integration of Street View images, with the yellow 'Pegman' figure present alongside the other navigation controls. As with Google Maps, all you need to do is drop Pegman onto a street that's highlighted in blue, and then use the arrow keys or scroll wheel to 'walk' along the road.

Another change its the inclusion of 3D models of more than 50 tree species in the 3D buildings layer.

"While we've just gotten started planting trees in Google Earth, we already have more than 80 million trees in places such as Athens, Berlin, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Tokyo," said product manager Peter Birch.

According to company officials, "Google has developed its own software to geo-locate and identify existing trees, from the tree species and appearance to its size and location. However, in certain areas with a wide variety of tree types, the biodiversity of tree species may not be 100% accurate."

Google has also made it easier to access the historical imagery available in Google Earth. Where such imagery is available, the status bar displays its date, and clicking on that date displays the imagery, such as London or Berlin in 1945, or Las Vegas in 1965.