What on Earth? Best extras for Google Earth and Maps
Funny findings, fascinating add-ons and much more
to discover on Google Earth and Google Maps
Plan a gap year on Google Maps
Organise your gap year using this Google Maps tool created by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Lonely Planet.
www.gogapyear.com
Watch hotel video reviews
The excellent TVtrip uses Google Maps to show videos of hotels around the world. It's a valuable tool for travellers looking for accommodation.
http://www.tvtrip.com
Watch 3D video of Disney World
Explore every inch of Disney World in this mouth-watering Google Earth video.
http://tinyurl.com/5fonna
Ask 500 people
Submit any question you want, and see the answers displayed around the world in Google Maps. A very engaging and addictive.
http://www.ask500people.com
3D Google Earth views
A large collection of amazing 3D views, including Alcatraz, Mount St Helens and the Olympic stadium in Beijing.
http://www.kmlwiki.de
Cool Google Earth pics
It's all in German, but that won't stop you enjoying the odd and interesting Google Earth photos here.
http://www.earth-dots.de
Use the new Google Map Maker
The excellent new Google Map Maker lets you locate, draw, label and add map features.
http://www.google.com/mapmaker
Use new Google Earth plugin
This incredibly clever new tool lets you embed Street View, Google Maps and Google Earth onto your site.
http://www.streetcities.com/StreetEarth.aspx
Books on Google Earth
Read Senghor on the Rocks, the first full-length novel illustrated on Google Earth. Every page is accompanied by a photo of a location. http://www.senghorontherocks.net/part1.html
Travel on the Glacier Express train
This 3D map tracks the route of Switzerland's famous Glacier Express train. It's a dazzling journey.
http://photoskml.googlepages.com/glacier2.htm
Get Google Maps on mobile phones
Use the Mobile Maps application to send small user-created Google Maps to mobile phones.
http://linkstore.ru/mmap
New global warming map in Google Earth
This new map, made by the British Government, the UK Met Office and the British Antarctic Survey, shows the affects of global warming.
http://tinyurl.com/43wxnq
Follow Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
You can chart the progress of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race on Google Maps. The boats left Liverpool last September, and are due to arrive back in July.
www.clipperroundtheworld.com/index.php/multimedia/race_viewer
New Google News layer in Google Earth http://tinyurl.com/5oyfj8
The Google News layer show the locations of major news stories around the world.
Discover London's books in Google Maps
From Fever Pitch to Bleak House, this interactive map features more than 400 books either set in, or about, the capital.
http://www.getlondonreading.co.uk/Books-in-London
Use Wikipedia in Google Maps
Wikipedia information has now been added to Google Maps. Just click the More tab at the top and scroll down.
http://maps.google.com/maps
Use Twitter Spy in Google Maps
If you're a regular Twitter, you'll love Twitter Spy, which is a new Google Map service showing in real-time the latest messages on Twitter.
http://twitspy.com
Fly around Amsterdam in helicopter
Not literally, of course. But in this Google Maps game you have to find different Amsterdam addresses while piloting a chopper.
http://amsterdam.by-helicopter.com
Watch galaxies interact in Google Maps
Star-gazers will love this map of interacting galaxies, which was made to celebrate the 18th birthday of the Hubble telescope.
http://keirclarke.googlepages.com/sky2.htm
Grand Theft Auto 4 Google Map
Get help navigating through Liberty City with this Grand Theft Auto 4 map.
http://tinyurl.com/5dt2r4
View mineral deposits using Google Earth
Travel the world on Google Earth to see where large deposits of mineral resources are situated.
http://tinyurl.com/5utp8f
See space debris in Google Earth
This fascinating visualisation shows the space debris left orbiting Earth after China destroyed a satellite last year.
http://tinyurl.com/6ansxd
Read New York Times on Google Earth
Using this excellent application you can fly around the world reading news stories from the New York Times.
http://tinyurl.com/6fp8cu
Follow Earth Day on Google Maps
Use Google Maps to have a look at the events planned for Earth Day on April 22.
http://ww2.earthday.net/node/80
Map showing effect of rising sea levels
This Google Maps mashup lets you explore the areas of the earth most vulnerable to rises in sea level.
http://www.globalwarmingart.com/sealevel
Use improved London Profiler map
This wonderful Google Map lets you view social demographics for London, such as poverty and ethnicity.
http://www.londonprofiler.org
Buy a tree in the Indonesian rainforest
The WWF are giving you the chance to buy a tree in the Indonesian rainforest. You're given Google Earth co-ordinates for its location.
http://mybabytree.org
Track animal migrations
Use Google Maps to track some of the greatest animal migrations on the planet at this excellent BBC Radio 4 site.
www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/worldonthemove
See newly discovered meteor crater http://www.gearthblog.com/kmfiles/hickmancrater.kmz
Geologist Arthur Hickman discovered this crater while looking for places to find iron ore in mountains in the western part of Australia.
New Google Earth layer released http://tinyurl.com/23qgma
This new Google Earth layer sees the addition of roads in 94 countries, including 58 in Africa. There are lots of other improvements too.
Record your voice on Google Maps http://tinyurl.com/39kgep
This wonderfully innovative Google Maps extra lets you record your voice and associate it with a marker on the map.
See extreme places on Earth http://tinyurl.com/2z8kjk
This is a fascinating collection of extreme places on Earth, including the tallest bridge, the windiest place and the deepest canyon.
Follow Formula One Season on Google Maps http://www.glotter.com/entry-1009
This superb Google Map contains all eighteen race tracks around the world hosting Formula One races this year.
Watch satellites orbit the Earth http://tinyurl.com/2zwhyy
Several inks to excellent Google Earth extras that let you track the orbit of the International Space Station and the 100 brightest satellites.
See Samuel Pepys' diary in map form www.pepysdiary.com
This excellent blog, which posts entries from Samuel Pepys' diary, shows locations mentioned on Google Maps.
Visit MIMOA - guide to European architecture http://www.mimoa.eu
MIMOA is a fantastic guide to European architecture, with maps of over 1,000 buildings. Anyone can add a buildings, post comments and add ratings.
See effect of global warming http://www.mibazaar.com/nationundersiege
This map shows the impact of rising sea levels on US coastal cities. It's a scary warning of the effect of global warming.
Music Maps http://music-maps.com
Music Maps is a wonderful add-on for Google Maps which connects
lyrics and album names to their geographic significance.
Play new game on Google Earth http://clandestineworks.com/blog
Covert Warfare is a new combat strategy game you can play on Google Earth. You can create new levels and share them with other players.
100 things to do with Google Maps Mashups http://tinyurl.com/224hp3
Got some spare time on your hands? Then have a look at this superb list of 100 things to do with Google Maps Mashups.
New US cities get Google Maps Street View http://tinyurl.com/2zb72j
Kansas, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Salt Lake City are among 12 American cities to get new Street Views.
Add F-16 cockpit view for Google Earth Flight Sim http://tinyurl.com/26bx7h
This excellent F-16 cockpit image overlay to Google Earth gives you a more realistic feel to using the Flight Simulator.
Follow the path of solar eclipses on Google Maps http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/SolarEclipsesGoogleMaps.html
These fantastic interactive maps show the path of solar eclipses across the Earth's surface since 1961, and the expected path for eclipses until 2039.
Watch dinosaurs walk the earth http://tinyurl.com/276m42
Are these dinosaurs really walking the earth? Is that a T Rex you can see? Investigate more to find out.
View 18th-Century map of France on Google Maps http://demo.geogarage.com/cassini
You can view one of the most important historical maps on Google Maps. This exquisite 18th-Century map of France took César-François Cassini over 30 years to complete.
See where musicians were born http://tinyurl.com/2ors8q
This promising Google Earth extra shows the birthplaces of the world's leading musicians and composers.
Seen something funny or interesting on Google Earth or Maps that we should add to this list? Tell us about it now and we'll feature the best online and in Web User magazine.
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What on Earth? Best extras for Google Earth and Maps
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Claire Woffenden, Editor
