April 05, 2005

Google Maps to Use Satellite Images

Google Maps will soon let users plot driving directions and locate destinations by overlaying detailed satellite ariel photograph maps. Search results will also show local businesses and other locations using the technology acquired in Keyhole.

John Hanke, general manager of Google's Keyhole unit, said the satellite maps combined with search results would be useful for people looking for homes or apartments, for example. "You can see the house, the street it's on, the coffee houses in the area, the park around the corner," he said. "You can see what these places are like in a way you can't with a normal map." Source: WSJ