New Featured Content Pays Tribute to Africa and Introduces Users to
Historical Maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - Nov. 13, 2006 - In celebration of Geography
Awareness Week, Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) today released new Featured
Content for Google Earth that connects users to information about the
history of the world through one of the largest private map collections
in the US. Map overlays from the David Rumsey collection, which
integrate historic cartographic masterpieces dating as far back as the
17th century, have been brought to life for the first time using
advanced digitization techniques and innovative software tools in
Google Earth. Also available with this release in partnership with
National Geographic is an interactive geography quiz that enables users
to test their knowledge of this year's Geography Awareness Week focus
region of Africa.
"We are excited to partner with National Geographic to celebrate and
encourage the study of geography with Google Earth," said John Hanke,
director of Google Earth and Maps. "Our work with David Rumsey to
bring some of the finest privately held historical maps to users
worldwide further demonstrates how Google Earth can serve as a dynamic
tool for geographic discovery."
"National Geographic has been exploring and inspiring people to care
about the planet for more than a century," said Terry Garcia,
National Geographic's Executive Vice President for Mission Programs.
"Today, anyone hooked into the Web can explore any place on Earth at
the click of a mouse. Caring begins with seeing, and there's no
better way to see a place than to be there. So we know new geographic
tools such as Google Earth and the National Geographic-ESRI MapMachine
mean better stewardship of our world's extraordinary places, animals,
and cultures."
"I am thrilled to be able to share maps from my collection with users
worldwide in Google Earth," said David Rumsey. "As a longtime maps
enthusiast, it is wonderful to see the cutting edge technology of
Google Earth introduce people to the geographic history of our world in
a new and innovative way. The cartographers who made these historical
maps hundreds of years ago would be amazed and pleased to see their
treasures in Google Earth."
More details about this release:
· David Rumsey Historical Maps - Dating from 1680 to 1892, 16
historical maps representative of various regions around the world are
available for navigation in Google Earth, including Cassini's Globe
of 1790, a map of Africa from 1787, and a 1710 Japanese-Chinese map of
Asia. When overlaid with other data layers in Google Earth, these
historical maps show in vivid detail how places have evolved over time
and how people's perception of geography has changed.
· National Geographic Quiz on Africa - An interactive educational
quiz on Africa tests users knowledge of this year's Geography
Awareness focus region as an overlay within Google Earth.
· Tracks 4 Africa - This overlay incorporates community-generated
data about Africa from Tracks4Africa, an eco-travel community of users
who have collected data on roads, trails, track data, lakes, rivers,
and tourist points of interest.
· Spotlight on Africa - Featuring flags and information about the
53 sovereign nations of Africa, this overlay provides additional
context for this year's focus region.
More information about these Featured Content overlays is available at
http://www.google.com/educators/gaw.html. Users can access these new
Featured Content layers in the left sidebar of Google Earth.
Designed to promote the study of geography in the U.S. and across the
globe, Geography Awareness Week was first organized by the National
Geographic Society and was officially recognized as the third week in
November by President Ronald Reagan in 1987.
Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google
Search to make the world's geographic information easily accessible and
useful. There have been over 100 million downloads of Google Earth
since the product's launch in June, 2005.
About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people
around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by
Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a
top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted
advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable
results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google
is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the
Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GooglePress" group.
To post to this group, send email to GooglePress@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to GooglePress-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups-beta.google.com/group/GooglePress
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
No comments:
Post a Comment