Mar 28, 2011 20:51 GMT  ·  By

Google has added Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands and clearly the most famous city in the country, though maybe not always for the most flattering of reasons, to the list of cities recreated in 3D in Google Earth and Google Maps' Earth View. It joins several other cities, mostly in Europe, that have been almost completely recreated.

"For those of you who have not had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful city of Amsterdam for yourself, I’m happy to say that Google Earth now offers the next best thing: Amsterdam in 3D," Google's Jules van de Ven announced.

"Recently, several thousand buildings have been added to the capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam. Using Google Maps with Earth view or Google Earth's '3D Buildings' layer, you can now travel the city’s historic streets and canals to experience its rich architectural history," he added.

Google lists several interesting locations in Amsterdam that you can visit virtually. Interestingly enough, you can now visit places like the Rijksmuseum or the van Gogh Museum that have been recently been added to the Google Art Project which enables you to visit the museum halls and view the art work in high detail thanks to Street View-like technology.

If you want your city to be featured, you can get cracking creating 3D models using the Building Maker tool.

The web-based app makes it easy for everyone to become a 3D modeler. And if you want something more advanced you can use the SketchUp modeling software Google provides.
Other cities that have been recreated in 3D in Google Earth recently:

Dortmund in 3D in Google Earth - Vienna Gets Showcased in 3D in Google Earth - Madrid Gets the 3D Treatment in Google Earth - Lisbon in 3D in Google EarthStockholm Goes 3D in Google Earth - Venice Now in 3D in Google EarthRotterdam Now in 3D in Google EarthBerlin and Stuttgart, Germany in 3D in Google EarthSeville, Spain Now in 3D in Google Earth

Google SketchUp is available for download here on Softpedia.