Google Maps gets high-res aerial imagery for 72 countries, regions

According to the Google's Lat-Long Blog, the company has added new high-resolution aerial photography to Google Maps. This follows similar news from Microsoft a couple of weeks ago who also updated their own Bing Maps service with 215TB of high-resolution imagery.

Included in the Google Maps update are high-resolution images that were taken both at 45-degrees (often referred to as "bird's-eye view") and directly overhead. The new aerial photography covers numerous areas -- 72 countries and regions plus a total of 28 major cities -- 21 of which are in the U.S.

American cities with fresh bird's-eye imagery include Anderson, CA; Beech Island - New Ellenton, GA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Carthage, MO; Chicago, IL; Clarksville, TN; Columbus - Reynoldsburg, OH; Dayton, OH; Everett, WA; Galena, KS; Idaho Falls, ID; Joplin, MO; Lafayette (outskirts), LA; Lancaster, CA; Louisville, KY; Lowell, MA - Nashua, NH; Pittsburgh, PA; Pueblo (outskirts), CO; Redding, CA; Springfield, IL; Yuba City, CA.

International cities sporting the same kind of up-close aerial photography now include Birmingham, UK; Catania, Italy; Denia, Spain; parts of London, United Kingdom; Meyrin - Vernier, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; Neuchatel and Switzerland.

It's worth noting the new imagery of "parts of London" comes just in time for the 2012 Olympics and includes the Olympic Park and Village in Stratford, London. Bird's-eye views of the Olympic stadium do not appear to be available, however.

The blog also lists numerous countries (and regions) who've received a high-res overhaul on Google Maps:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Greenland, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Although Microsoft didn't reveal how many areas were covered in its similar update to Bing Maps, the company mentioned its own additions covered more than 230,000 sq/km of terrain, consisting upward of over 1.1 million files and totaling 215 TB of data. Numbers like may help put into perspective how massive of an undertaking services like Google Maps and Bing Maps truly are.

Google archives Japan tsunami damage through Street View

Google has made good on an initiative announced earlier this year to archive areas of Northeastern Japan that were affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunami in March. 360-degree imagery of devastated areas is now available through Street View in Google Maps.

Vehicles equipped with Street View cameras traveled more than 44,000 kilometers to survey the affected regions. Viewers can see a before and after comparison to get an idea of how severe the damage was. Google has also implemented a timestamp feature in the bottom left corner of each image that shows the month and year the photo was taken. This has been one of the most requested features in Street View and it is now available on Street View imagery worldwide. Timestamps will help historians, architects, city planners, travelers and potential home buyers get a sense of how fresh images are for areas that interest them.

The search giant has also made the imagery available through a special website called Building the Memory where visitors can compare before and after shots of towns forever changed by the disaster.

Google hopes that the images from Japan will ultimately help researchers and scientists to better understand the effects of natural disasters. The images will also help to ensure that the memories of the disaster will remain relevant and tangible for future generations. The team was taking donations for relief efforts through the Google Lat Long Blog earlier this year but Japan likely didn't do itself any favors last week by announcing that $29 million of post-tsunami recovery funds were being allotted to the whaling industry.