Google Earth: The Best Virtual Globe

Google Earth is amazing software that allows people to view composite satellite images of Earth. The interface is fairly easy to use and lets the user fly around a virtual Earth as if in a hovering spacecraft.

With Google Earth, the user can zoom in on almost any area on the planet to a point where major geographic and city features are clearly visible. In some areas, Google Earth allows the user to zoom in to a point where cars are visible. In selected cities, like New York and Washington DC, the user can view 3-D elevations of major buildings and fly down virtual city streets.

Since Google Earth involves massive amounts of image transfers, you will need a broadband connection to run the software. The good news is that Google Earth is absolutely free. You can download Google Earth here.