Google Earth tops 1 billion downloads since launch

Google announced Wednesday that Google Earth, the tech giant's virtual globe, map and geographical information program, has been downloaded more than one billion times since it was first introduced in 2005. According to Google's official blog, there have been more than one billion downloads of the Google Earth desktop client, mobile apps and the Google Earth plug-in. To celebrate the milestone, Google is aggregating all the interesting ways people have used Google Earth around the world and posting them on "www. OneWorldManyStories.com." "We never imagined our geospatial technology would be used by people in so many unexpected ways," said Google in the blog post. Google Earth maps the Earth by images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS (geographic information system) 3D globe. It also has versions of Moon, Mars and Sky, enabling users to see images and videos of the planets and distant galaxies. It is currently available in Google Earth, a free version with limited function, as well as Google Earth Pro and Google Earth Enterprise, subscription services with additional features intended for commercial use.