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| Google Adds New Featured Content to Google Earth In celebration of Geography Awareness Week, Google has added new Featured Content to Google Earth that connects users to information about the history of the world through one of the largest private map collections in the US. Map overlays from the David Rumsey collection, which integrate historic cartographic masterpieces dating as far back as the 17th century, have been brought to life for the first time using advanced digitization techniques and innovative software tools in Google Earth. Also available with this release in partnership with National Geographic is an interactive geography quiz that enables users to test their knowledge of this year's Geography Awareness Week focus region of Africa. More details about this release: - David Rumsey Historical Maps – Dating from 1680 to 1892, 16 historical maps representative of various regions around the world are available for navigation in Google Earth, including Cassini's Globe of 1790, a map of Africa from 1787, and a 1710 Japanese-Chinese map of Asia. When overlaid with other data layers in Google Earth, these historical maps show in vivid detail how places have evolved over time and how people's perception of geography has changed. - National Geographic Quiz on Africa – An interactive educational quiz on Africa tests users knowledge of this year's Geography Awareness focus region as an overlay within Google Earth. - Tracks 4 Africa – This overlay incorporates community-generated data about Africa from Tracks4Africa, an eco-travel community of users who have collected data on roads, trails, track data, lakes, rivers, and tourist points of interest. - Spotlight on Africa – Featuring flags and information about the 53 sovereign nations of Africa, this overlay provides additional context for this year's focus region. write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Computing News :: home page |