Tapping YouTube, Google has added a video layer to its Google Earth mapping service. Google Earth users can now zoom in on any location on the planet and view YouTube videos related to that
geographic location. Armchair tourists to Rome, for example, can now watch YouTube videos filmed at the Colosseum. Icons of the YouTube logo will then be visible on Google's virtual globe. Users can
either fly from place to place, exploring videos as they go, or they can search for a particular location and view the videos available there. Users have to mouse over the icon to read the title of
the video, and click on the icon to open a pop-up bubble.
--Gavin O'Malley