Google has released a great new version of the keyhole satellite viewer http://earth.google.com/ . If you have the minimum computer system below this is great fun to zoom into various addresses/ cities/ countries, to show kids how the world turns, or to search for Gilligan's Island. You can even get driving directions and then fly along the route!

Mars is included too but I don't know how accurate the driving instructions are.



Additional hint, if you go to Seattle don't turn on the Show Coffee Shops option. You might need more than the minimum system configuration to show all of the results

Minimum configuration:

* Operating system: Windows 2000, Windows XP
* CPU speed: IntelÔøΩ PentiumÔøΩ PIII 500 MHz
* System memory (RAM): 128MB
* 200MB hard-disk space
* 3D graphics card: 3D-capable video card with 16MB VRAM
* 1024x768, 32-bit true color screen
* Network speed: 128 kbps ("Broadband/Cable Internet")

Tags: earth, Viewer