Jul 8, 2011 14:51 GMT  ·  By

Google is busy working on adding more and more 3D buildings to Google Earth and Maps. Well, to be precise, enthusiast volunteers do most of the work, Google just picks the best of the litter and then adds them to the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth.

Granted, this is why all of the volunteers do it, to see their creations live in Earth and Maps and take pride in the fact that millions of people will admire their creations.

Google has now added several tens of thousands of new buildings in three cities in one fell swoop and felt that the update was worthy of an official announcement.

That said, Google moved away from the regular, lengthy post for updates of this sort and kept it simple and to the point.

"Looking for new 3D cities to explore in far off places? Well, you’re in luck! We’ve been hard at work expanding our 3D coverage by adding ten of thousands of 3D buildings to these cities: Berkeley, California USA; Cologne, Germany; The Hague, Netherlands," Catherine Moats, 3D Data Specialist at Google, announced.

"See the new buildings for yourself with the '3D Buildings' layer in Google Earth or by using Google Maps with Earth view," she explained.

If you want to contribute yourself, you can check out Google Building Maker which makes it trivial to create 3D buildings for Google Earth. If you're ready for a bit more than what Building Maker has to offer, you can grab Google SketchUP from the download link below and set your imagination loose.

Other cities that have been recreated in 3D in Google Earth recently:

Check out Brussels in 3D in Google Earth and MapsAmsterdam in 3D Now in Google Maps and EarthDortmund 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.

Photo Gallery (3 Images)

The Hague in 3D in Google Earth
Cologne in 3D in Google EarthBerkley in 3D in Google Earth
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