Around the World in 80 Clicks, With Google Earth

By Mark Hoerrner

Hey! I can see my house from here! That’s right, it may be a grainy black and white, low-resolution photo of your house that’s over three years old, but Google’s new program, Google Earth, can take you to just about any place in the world, including your own house. And it won’t take you 80 days to get there.

The program uses satellite imagery to allow users to take their trip around the globe, letting the average person travel to downtown Paris and then jump to the Kansas Stockyards. Never been to Niagara Falls? No problem. In some areas, the program will allow users to plot driving directions and then take a virtual drive from point to point.

This instant access to just about anywhere on the planet has some officials spooked about the ramifications of terrorists using the software to plot acts of disaster. But John Pike, founder of GlobalSecurity.org, told FoxNews.com in an interview that it was unlikely terrorists would bank a mission on Internet intelligence. The majority of the imagery that Google Earth uses comes from decommissioned images provided by the U.S. Geological Survey. The images are available to the public in ways other than Google Earth, but they could be very outdated at the time they are made public.

"If I was going to be going through all the trouble to conduct a well-planned assault on a nuclear power plant, I'm not going to trust some Web site to do my intelligence collection," Pike said. "If evildoers were wanting to get imagery of, say, a nuclear power plant, there are simply so many different ways that they can do it, the fact that it's available on an Internet Web site really doesn't alter their attack planning requirements."

The spectrum of what Google Earth offers is considerable—users are able to plot their own points on the images as well as search for restaurants, ATMs, banks, subways, roads, and other geographic features. This ability to search such a massive atlas has had some effect in the private sector. Prudential Preferred Properties invested in the program, adding the ability to search property in different cities by property type, city, and price. Prudential’s spokespeople say the program has helped boost interstate sales since people can view a property before making a trip to a certain area.

"Google Earth utilizes broadband streaming technology and 3D graphics, much like a videogame," said John Hanke, general manager for the Google Keyhole group, which developed the application. "It enables users to interactively explore the world—either their own neighborhood or the far corners of the globe." The product launched at the end of June.