First time I used the google map feature. Very interesting. I notice, however, that while I can zoom in to see my house, I can only zoom in so far over China before it zots you out. Wonder why that is...
They forced them to do that - India now complaining too.
Google site a worry
By Associated Press
Monday, October 17, 2005
HYDERABAD, India – Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam expressed concern Saturday about a free mapping program from Google Inc., warning it could help terrorists by showing satellite photos of potential targets.
Google Earth, an Internet site launched in June this year, allows users to access overlapping satellite photos. Although not all areas are highly detailed, some images are very high resolution, and some show sensitive locations in various countries.
At a meeting of top police officials in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, Kalam said he worried that ``developing countries, which are already in danger of terrorist attacks, have been singularly chosen'' for providing high resolution images of their sites.
The governments of South Korea and Thailand and lawmakers in the Netherlands have expressed similar concerns.
South Korean newspapers said Google Earth provides images of the presidential Blue House and military bases in the country, which remains technically at war with communist North Korea. The North's main nuclear facility at Yongbyon is among sites in that country displayed on the service.
The Google site contains clear aerial photos of India's parliament building, the president's house and surrounding government offices in New Delhi. There are also some clear shots of Indian defense establishments.
Debbie Frost, spokewoman for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google, said the software uses information already available from public sources and the images displayed are about one to two years old, not shown in real time.
``Google takes governmental concerns about Google Earth and Google Maps very seriously. Google welcomes dialogue with governments, and we will be happy to talk to Indian authorities about any concerns they may have,'' Frost said in an e-mail statement Saturday
If you liked that Google map, you'll love Google Earth.
http://earth.google.com/
Get the free version; and make sure you keep it updated.