14 DAY TRIAL // The same day Google Earth was announced, Google's shares were surpassing $300 for the first time.
Google Earth was launched shortly after the search engine unveiled its new Video Search, which comes with Google Video Viewer, a small program that integrates in the browser the ability to view videoclips.
Google Earth is based on a sofware developed by Keyhole Corp. which was acquired by Google last year in October. Google Earth was announced last month, shortly after MSN announced that starting from this summer will offer its users a new service, called MSN Virtual Earth.
Google Earth is addressed especially to broadband users and it is based on subscription services.
Google said it will charge $20 per year to give users GPS compatibility, data import and annotation abilities. For $400 a year, Google is targeting business users with high-resolution printing and GIS data import capabilities.
"Google Earth uses broadband streaming technology and 3D graphics, much like a video game, enabling users to interactively explore the world -- either their own neighborhood or the far corners of the globe,'' said Keyhole general manager John Hanke in a statement.
"With many ways to access geographic information, Google provides a very rich local search experience for users worldwide.''