14 DAY TRIAL // The French invite through this new service to an alternative to Google Maps, although the site does not fall within the commercial destination of the one belonging to the Mountain View company. The governmental child, because the French project is not a private initiative, aims at providing the citizens with easy access to geographic and geological information.
The National Geographic Institute and the Office of Geological and Mineral Research have received the task of bringing Geoportail to life. Yesterday, even the French president Jacques Chirac attended an official presentation of the site.
French authorities claim that the portal will allow users to visualize geographic details of the country through high resolution satellite images, the quality offered being superior to that of the rival Google Maps. The launch of Geoportail comes on the heels of Google Maps' upgrade but analysts estimate that it will enjoy real success in what concerns the French public.
"It is also a case of economics. With Galileo (the European Union satellite navigation system), with the mobile telephone, services linked to global positioning will develop a lot. It is also about democracy because our citizens have the right to know all the facts about the environment," said the French president.