What's New in Google Earth?
Each month we highlight the newest additions to Google Earth content and news. If you haven't been subscribing to Sightseer for long, check the forum for previous editions.
Street View News
 Street View continued it's expansion in November. Italy now has coverage in the following places: Milan, Florence, Rome and Lake Como. If you turn on the Street View layer in Google Earth, you will see icons appear for each of these locations. Zoom in closer for individual placemarks for each location. With Google Earth you can zoom in for a 3D experience of these 360 degree panoramic photos. Read more about navigating Street View in Google Earth. Street View was released for new locations in the US, including Washington DC, Baltimore, and Seattle. Read more.
Street View imagery is available in the US, France, Spain, Japan, Australia, and Italy.
By the way, Street View imagery is now available in the new iPhone 2.2 upgrade released on November 22nd.
Ancient Rome 3D
 In mid-November we introduced a new approach to learning about ancient history: the ability to go back in time and explore Rome as it existed in 320 AD -- in 3D!
All of this is possible through the new Ancient Rome 3D layer in Google Earth. To activate the layer, simply open the Gallery folder in the Layers panel and select Ancient Rome 3D. Then fly yourself to Rome until the yellow ancient Rome placemarks appear. Select a placemark and look for the placemarks to load the ancient Rome terrain, and then choose one of two 3D buildings collections to load the ancient city.
The new layer, produced by the University of Virginia's Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) and based on its Rome Reborn model, contains over 6,700 3D buildings and 250 Google Earth placemarks that allow Google Earth users to explore and learn about this fascinating period of history.
This is the first time that we have incorporated an ancient city in Google Earth. Going back in time presented some new challenges, such as how to handle the ancient terrain which was clearly different than modern day. Read more about the layer and watch a YouTube video demonstration.
In conjunction with the new Ancient Rome 3D layer, Google is pleased to introduce our first-ever curriculum contest for K-12 educators in the US. The curriculum competition is a chance for educators to gain recognition (and a fabulous prize package!) by reconfiguring new or time-tested Rome-based curricula using the new technology. Whether you teach art history or philosophy, be sure to visit earth.google.com/romecontest for competition details, frequently asked questions, and registration links. The competition deadline is February 9, 2009, so get those creative juices flowing now!
SketchUp 7 Released
On November 17, we announced the release of Google SketchUp 7 - a 3D modeling software that can be used to create models for Google Earth. There are many new features in SketchUp 7 designed to help all 3D modelers (from beginners through experts and professionals). The Google 3D Warehouse is an enormous, searchable repository of stuff from modelers all over the world. Recently, we introduced Google Docs-style sharing and collaboration, and now you can search for models in the Google 3D Warehouse right from the Component browser. There were also changes introduced to make models destined for Google Earth more memory efficient. Check out Google SketchUp - it's available in both free and Pro versions.
3D Warehouse Update
 You can now view geo-referenced 3D Models in the 3D Warehouse right on the web page thanks to the use of the Google Earth plugin. Visit a 3D model like this one, and click on the Map tab. Then select the Earth option in the map to see the 3D model inside the plugin. You can change your view to look around at the model. For a little fun, if you look on the back side of the building for the example model (which is the Google Boulder, Colorado office), you'll find a hidden feature standing on the roof. If you're impatient, see the story at Google Earth Blog which shows the hidden feature.
Google.org Geo Challenge Grants
Google.org has met and worked with many amazing organizations over the past few years, and we keep hearing how eager people are to use online mapping tools such as Google Earth and Google Maps to tell their stories. There are tons of great mapping ideas out there, and we think that with a little support, many of them can come to life. So we launched Google.org Geo Challenge Grants, a small grants program to provide nonprofits with the impetus and resources they need to take advantage of powerful and exciting online mapping tools. Grants are available from $5000 to $100,000. Apply now!
New 3D Cities, 360Cities
 Two new cities have new 3D buildings in Google Earth seen with the 3D Buildings layer: Seattle, Washington and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Each of these cities now has hundreds of buildings and even bridges with photorealistic textures. There is also a new layer showing nearly 10,000 360 degree panoramic photos from 360Cities.net. Photos are uploaded by people all over the world and mapped to the location where the photos were taken. In Google Earth you can experience the 3D effect. To see the photos, turn on the 360Cities layer found under the Gallery layer folder. Read more.
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