Digital Earth Blog

Well, new to them at least.  Panoramio has brought out a new feature to allow you to “Look Around” some landmarks using a very simple, intiuitive interface.  As Google Earth Blog points out, this feels very similar to Microsoft’s Photosynth.  In addition, as Google System points out, it’s not nearly as cool.

I’m a bit disappointed that this doesn’t yet work in Google Earth.  I was picturing something much more similar to Photosynth, where you could interact in a 3D world.  Still, it’s a very nice start and works very well.  The transitions between photos are very smooth and really help illustrate how the photos are related to one another.

Some places to check out, as suggested by the Panoramio blog:

• St. Peter Square in Rome
• Alhambra from Albaicin
• Mount Rushmore
• Roofs of Lisbon
• Chicago’s Hancock Tower
• Stockholm from Katarinahissen
• The Red Square of Moscow
• Brandenburg gate in Berlin
• The Taj Mahal
• The Sydney Opera House

Update: A little more info is now up on the Google LatLong blog.

As reported in the Google LatLong blog, the first big layer update for 2008 is out.  Included in it:

• Improved Earthquake layer, with a fresh look and more information.
• Expanded National Geographic layer, now covering Europe, Asia and South America.
• Updated roads in 26 countries:
  • Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, Aruba, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
• Two million more more photos in the Panoramio layer

More info about these updates can be found at the Google LatLong Blog, the Google Earth Blog and the Panoramio Blog.