13 June Information Week - Google Earth Grows With New Hi-Res Imagery.

... At Google's first Geo Developer Day on Monday, the company announced that it had increased its index of high-resolution satellite imagery by a factor of four, allowing users of Google Earth, and shortly Google Maps, to see the earth in much greater detail.

Over 20% of the earth's landmass can now be seen in high-resolution, according to John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Google Maps.

Google's geographic information keeps growing and it may eventually extend below the planet's surface, allowing users to navigate and visualize structures like utility pipes and undersea terrain. In response to a developer's question about the possibility of subterranean mapping, Hanke quipped, "Most of the ocean is below sea level. There's a lot of interesting stuff below that." ...