Jones, chief technologist of Google Earth, Maps and Local, says the company never considered buying Navteq.

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The connected Audi MIB system powers Audi connect, which enables live updates of Google Earth imagery complete with Google Maps Street View 360 degree panoramas.

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In past years, NORAD partnered with Google to help track Santa using Google Maps and Google Earth.

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But as lovely a treasure as it is, an old-fashioned printed world atlas is not on the same plane or even the same planet as Google Earth (and its sister, Google Maps).

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These then link to a web-based dashboard where survey data can be tracked on Google Maps and Google Earth, according to Water for People.

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Other sites with devoted followings such as the photo-sharing site Flickr also won multiple awards, as well as sites such as Google Maps and Google Earth.

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Google Maps 5.0 for Android might seem similarly earth shattering, but it marks a significant change to the basic technology of Google Maps.

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Google offers a similar facility via Google Earth which is promoted in its main maps app, but involves switching into a separate program.

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One of uses best known to the general public will be on their phones and computers through Google, which incorporates Landsat data into its Earth and Maps applications.

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