On Top Of The World! (earth.google.com)

Member Name: sparksteroid

Product:	earth.google.com
Date:	26/11/08 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see the world, plan maps and routes, check out holiday locations, geography

Disadvantages: None

Google Earth is a software application of which there are three versions available, basic, plus and pro. The free version of Google Earth can be downloaded free as part of the Google pack along with some other excellent applications. Google Earth basically gives you the ability to view and zoom in on any part of the world you wish, in great detail. You can search for countries, counties, cities, towns, streets and even postcodes.

Google Earth gives you a birdseye view of the world as though you are viewing from above. These images were taken by NASA from helicopter and are updated every few years. Google Earth even gives you the ability to zoom right into your own street, see the roof of your house, your back garden and even your car!

Though the application generally runs smoothly, there are two graphics modes available to choose from for maximum performance on your PC. The applicatin does generally run very smoothly and is extremely efficient in its running. However, upon searches in areas of the world like middle eastern and third world countries I have found that zooming in causes the detail of the graphics to decrease and becomes very unclear.

Google Earth can be useful for several reasons though, from researching certain areas of the world to geography to planning out a map for travelling. It can also provide a useful resource for checking out locations you are thinking about going on holiday to.

I highly recommend this application to asbolutely anyone. Not only is it great fun to use, it's good for geographical education, information, planning holidays and much much more.

Summary: An excellent very handy and resourcefully useful software application