Google feels charitable

GOOGLE, being nice cuddly and un-evil, appears to have roped in
Sir David Attenborough to help an iniliative to document the plight of endangered species on Google Earth.

UK charities Wildscreen and Wateraid are using Google Earth, under a programme called Arkive, (ark, geddit?) to highlight their work.

Google apparently allows worthies can overlay written,
audio and video information onto Google Earth and Maps through an Outreach programme.

Wildscreen charity patron Sir David Attenborough said at the launch that, with the Interweb, "there are now even more opportunities to bring the wonders of the natural world to a global audience. Google Earth is a really powerful way for Wildscreen to show the vital work it's doing with the ARKive project. It is visual, easy to understand, and another important step in helping us appreciate that without care and conservation many of our amazing plants and animals may soon be lost forever."

The Google Earth Outreach programme includes grants for licences of the professional versions of Google Earth and Google SketchUp (the 3D modelling software) plus text and video tutorials on how to use the tools.

A Google Earth layer by WaterAid was also unveiled showing the work the charity is doing around the world. A spokesWateraider
said the thing, "will help WaterAid highlight the life threatening water supply and sanitation issues that affect billions of people every day."

Both the Aarkive and Wateraid layers can be found in the Global Awareness folder of the Featured Content section in Google Earth.

Google: where would we be without it? µ