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New Google Earth 6 Features Integrated Street View, 3-D Trees

by Amar Toor on November 30, 2010 at 09:50 AM

google earth 6
Yesterday, Google unveiled the latest edition of its Google Earth digital atlas, which the company heralds as "the next generation of realism." The new Google Earth 6 sports a more highly integrated Street View feature, which allows users to zoom in from outer space directly to specific street corners or addresses. Taking a virtual stroll around a particular location is also substantially smoother with the new Google Earth, as users can use the scroll wheel on their mouse, or the keyboard arrow keys, to seamlessly explore any given region.

History buffs, meanwhile, will now be able to time travel with greater ease, thanks to Google Earth's more clearly displayed historical imagery feature. Although Google Earth 5 offered essentially the same capabilities, it wasn't always clear which cities or regions could be viewed with historical lenses. Now, whenever a user hovers over an area where such historical imagery is available, the date of the oldest images will automatically appear at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on the date will bring up images of that area from that particular period.

Perhaps the most visually noticeable addition to Google Earth 6, though, is its fresh new forestry. Areas displayed on the site will now include 3-D renderings of various tree species, in high detail. The company has only started planting trees in Google Earth, but has already managed to place some 80 million in cities like Athens, Berlin, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Tokyo. Meanwhile, the Google Earth Outreach Program has been busy working with organizations like the Green Belt Movement, the Amazon Conservation Team and CONABIO to display the world's forests that are facing the most serious environmental threats.

To see video demonstrations of Google Earth 6, or to download it yourself, click here.

Tags: 3-D, apps, google, GoogleEarth, GoogleEarth6, GoogleStreetView, history, maps, navigation, top, tree, Web

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