Google Earth — the desktop client, mobile apps and plug-ins that let you “explore the world in seconds, from Earth to Mars to the ocean floor” — has been downloaded more than one billion times since it was first introduced in 2005, Google says.
Google Earth displays satellite imagery and more.
In light of the impressive tally, the company launched OneWorldManyStories, where it has “collected stories from people all over the world who use Google Earth to follow their dreams, discover new and distant places, or make the world a better place.”
One example: a professor who viewed the satellite imagery to “scan thousands of square kilometers in Saudi Arabia and Jordan… and discover ancient tombs and geoglyphs dating back at least 2,000 years, all without leaving his desk.”
The program was first developed by Keyhole in 2001, which was acquired by Google in 2004.
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