14 DAY TRIAL // Google's quest to recreate the world under it own terms is moving ahead as scheduled, it seems. Luckily, we're not talking about some evil corporate conspiracy but rather about a more benign yet ambitious plan to have most of the world's cities modeled in 3D and available in Google Earth. The company's mapping group is putting a lot of effort into this lately and with some clear results, many major cities around the world are now completely recreated in 3D in Google Earth and plenty more are coming. The latest to join the list is Vienna, the beautiful and history-rich Austrian capital.
"We're pleased to announce the addition of Vienna, Austria to our collection of 3D cities in Google Earth," Allison Floyd, Google software engineer, wrote. "Vienna is well known for its culture; its theater, music, opera and museums are all exceedingly popular destinations for locals and tourists alike."
"The next time I visit Austria, I'd love to catch a production of Faust at the Burgtheater. Vienna possesses some spectacular examples of Gothic architecture: the Rathaus (City Hall), the Votive Church, and St. Stephen's Cathedral. If your style runs more towards Art Nouveau, the Secession movement generated a number of notable destinations, such as the Karlsplatz Stadtbahn station," she added.
You can check out the sites yourself in Google Earth by searching for the location and simply 'flying' over. There's plenty to see as many of the city's historic or less than historic buildings are now available in three dimensions, with the remaining missing few probably on the way. You can also grab this KML file (via the unofficial Google Earth Blog) to go directly to the city in Google Earth.
Just a couple of weeks ago Madrid, Spain, was also introduced in Google Earth in 3D and, at this pace, there should be plenty of major cities available soon enough. Smaller ones have a chance as well since Google is encouraging people to get involved and get their town modeled in 3D with the Model Your Town competition geared more towards students and schools.