Google Earth Release 4 - BETA

Google has released its newest beta version of Google Earth (release 4). Since the last release (on 12th June 2006), they’ve made several improvements. This latest version offers faster rendering of satellite imagery, 3D terrain and models; updated imagery; and several new features.

New features, as of 13th September 2006, include:

• Japanese language support (Japanese version is available at earth.google.co.jp )
  
• Layer data for Japan, including countrywide 3D buildings
  
• Featured content layer (now available in all versions)
  
• A new interface for viewing time-stamped /time-range image overlays
  
• Improved printing option for turn-by-turn driving directions with satellite imagery
  
• New KML folders options with radio button style placemarks (under my places)
  
• Support for Hi-definition (HDTV) movie output (Pro version only)
  
• Support for Web Mapping Service(WMS) image/data overlays (now in free version too)
  
• Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system grid overlay

Time-stamped images – View KML files that have time-stamped images and data. Using multiple time-stamped images of the same place, users can see what existed at what point in a given time range. For example, users can see the migration of whale shark ‘Schroder’ over a period of 3 months (August 2005 to November 2005).

Easier-to-create overlays – Google has added support for WMS overlays (so you can access several WMS data providers from within Google Earth and superimpose their info on your Google Earth view). The new UTM grid view allows users to align this superimposed info with the correct geographic coordinates. Businesses can use it to super impose their geographic information on top of Google Earth imagery.

Featured-content layer - This folder contains highly informative, multimedia-enhanced data about various places around the planet, overlaid on Google Earth imagery. Users can access by clicking on the “Featured Content” checkbox in the Google Earth sidebar. Icons of various points of interests will show up in the Google Earth view, and users can learn about the place by clicking on the relevant icon.

Overlays in this release of Featured Content for Google Earth include:

• United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) – includes successive time-stamped images illustrating 100 areas of extreme environmental degradation around the world.
  
• Discovery Networks World Tour – enables users to take a virtual tour of major world landmarks, cities, and natural wonders through Google Earth.
  
• National Park Service – includes detailed park descriptions, information on visitor facilities, and trails with distance calculations for 57 US National Parks.
  
• Jane Goodall Institute – users can visit Fifi and the other Gombe preserve chimpanzees and follow their daily exploits with the Institute’s "geo-blog" in Google Earth.
  
• Turn Here – This overlay features free city video guides for travel, restaurants, hotels, local events and music around the globe.
  
• National Geographic – this features articles and pictures by National Geographic from around the world.