Google Maps – Navigate the Earth , Dynamically!

Online search-engine leader Google has unveiled a new feature enabling users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, an advance that may raise privacy concerns as well as intensify the competitive pressures on its rivals.

This marks the first time since the deal closed that Google has offered free access to Keyhole’s high-tech maps through its search engine. Users previously had to pay $29.95 to download a version of Keyhole’s basic software package.

A more traditional map will continue to be the first choice served up by Google’s search engine.

Users will have the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button.

According to Keyhole’s general manager, John Hanke, there is little reason for people to be paranoid about the satellite maps because the images generally are six to 12 months old. “And it’s not like you are going to be able to read a license plate on a car or see what an individual was doing when a particular image was taken,” he also added. Google’s free satellite maps initially will be limited to North America, with images covering roughly half the United States.

Not everyone will be happy about their homes being viewable on the Web, even if they do look tiny and fuzzy. Some privacy advocates are urging Google to offer an online “opt-out” feature that would let people type in their addresses to have their homes blurred or blanked out from Google’s public-image database.


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