Google Earth for the iPhone and iPod touch was launched into the wild about a year ago, and now the software solution just reached version 2.0. According to Google, the app managed to become the second most downloaded one in the App Store in about six months, and now users will be able to enjoy a series of new features, such as the possibility to view maps created in the desktop computer, to explore the app in new languages, and to benefit from improved icon selection and performance.

“Have you ever wanted to view a custom map with Google Earth on your iPhone? Well, now you can. By logging in directly to your Google Maps account, you can view the same maps that you or others have created, using the My Maps interface. Maybe you're on a trip and want to see where Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, most likes to travel. Or perhaps you're walking around looking for a restaurant and you want to see where world-famous chef Ferran Adria likes to eat. All you have to do is click “Save to My Maps”, open Earth on the iPhone, log in with the same account information, and voila, you have your same collection of My Maps right in your pocket,” Peter Birch, product manager, Google Earth, notes on the company's blog.

According to the blog post, the creation and viewing of maps is a simple process. Maps can be created with the desktop version of Google Earth, and the results saved as a KML file, which can then be imported into My Maps in Google Maps. Moreover, it seems that users will certainly enjoy the possibility to browse the world directly from the palm of their hand, as they will be able to browse businesses, photos, and places more easily than before. Not to mention that icons can now be selected with the touch of a finger.

The new Google Earth 2.0 for the iPhone also comes around with a wider selection of available languages, up to a total number of 31: English (U.S), English (UK), French (France), German, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Korean, Japanese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Arabic, Thai, Czech, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Malaysian, Romanian, Slovak, and Croatian.

The new version of Google Earth for the iPhone and iPod touch is available for download here.