Search engine company Google has revealed that its offering based on geospatial technology, Google Earth, has been downloaded more than one billion times since it was first introduced in 2005.
The company said that the milestone means "more than one billion downloads of the Google Earth desktop client, mobile apps and the Google Earth plug-in — all enabling you to to explore the world in seconds, from Earth to Mars to the ocean floor."
The company also shared different ways the tool could be used by collecting stories from the Web world.
Google Earth and Maps VP of Engineering Brian McClendon said, "We’re proud of our one billion milestone, but we’re even more amazed at the way people have used Google Earth to explore the world."
"When we founded Keyhole, Inc. back in 2001 (the company was acquired by Google in 2004), we never imagined our geospatial technology would be used by people in so many unexpected ways. At www.OneWorldManyStories.com, we’ve collected stories from people all over the world who use Google Earth to follow their dreams, discover new and distant places, or make the world a better place."
Normally people use Google Earth to see places they have been, or to find out information about restaurants and other services. But the company cites some novel ways in which people have used Google Earth.
The company said that Professor David Kennedy of the University of Western Australia used Google Earth to scan thousands of square kilometers in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Google also mentioned architect Barnaby Gunning, who, after the April 6, 2009 earthquake near L’Aquila Italy, encouraged his fellow citizens to start rebuilding the city virtually in 3D. Their online urban planning will aid city planners and architects, said Google.
"Retired English teacher Jerome Burg created Google Lit Trips, which uses Google Earth to match places in famous books to their geographical locations, encouraging students to create connections between the stories they read in school and the world they live in," said Google.
