Most people have heard of Google Earth, the interactive world map that cleverly mashes satellite photography, 3-D graphics and internet data. Few, however, have fully explored it.

Did you know, for example, that it contains an amazingly realistic secret flight simulator? Or that you can go on guided tours and visit the Seven New Wonders of the World?

GETTING STARTED

First you need to download the Google Earth (earth.google.com) software. The latest version (4.2) is about 13MB in size and comes with a bewildering array of features and controls. With a little playing around, though, you soon get the feel of it.

The search panel in the top left-hand side of the screen allows you to specify where you want to “fly to” – using place names, postcodes or coordinates. Key in a destination and the animation will focus in on the location. Controls at the top right-hand side let you zoom in and out, rotate and tilt, and manipulate the map in any way you want.

Other panels on the left-hand side allow you to specify how complex you want the map to be. For example, you can overlay layers of information on the 3-D map, such as Wikipedia entries, photos, animations and YouTube videos, as well as other geographically relevant data – street names, nearby restaurants and art galleries.

Click on the Product Tour link for a run-through of the basic functions or go to googleearthuser.blogspot.com for more sophisticated tips and videos.

Google Earth files are an extension of XML called KML files, or KMZ if compressed. You can create your own content using this file format and post it on blogs and websites for others to download into Google Earth. For more information on KML-file creation, go to tinyurl.com/23ljrk.

USES FOR GOOGLE EARTH

Google Earth is essentially a research tool that improves by the week. You can use it to reconnoitre places you plan to visit or, if you’re moving home, to check out the area you’re moving to. Or use it as a directory and a 3-D A to Z, finding out more about local landmarks and places of interest. You can also use it to get directions from one location to another.

With it you gain access to the 500,000 users (tinyurl.com/beq5z) who share location-based blog posts, photos and videos. If you had been on a round-the-world trip and you wanted to show everyone where you’d been, you could upload photos and blog posts at each spot on the journey.

Through its Panoramio (www.panoramio.com) service you can upload up to 2GB of your own photos. When a user clicks on the camera icon your relevant photo of the place of interest pops up with a link to your collection of uploaded photos, on which users can comment.

BURIED TREASURES

Dig deeper into Google Earth and you’ll find applications, both educational and inspirational. By simultaneously pressing the Control, Alt and A keys on your keyboard, you’ll fire up a flight simulator that you can operate with the keyboard, mouse or joystick. Key in a region over which you wish fly, then launch the simulator. A broadband connection and powerful computer with good graphics make this a truly realistic experience.

Or instead try flying to the stars with Google Sky (earth.google.com/sky). See the constellations and planets as they appear in the sky above your current location. You can navigate in the same way as with Google Earth, flying to particular nebulae, for example. Adding layers can make for a richer experience, incorporating images from the Hubble space telescope, animations of the planets’ orbits and information about celestial objects.

It can be fun loading content created by third parties. Click on the Add Content tab in the Places panel to see a selection of available files. For example, Earth@SG (www.earthsg.com) has created a 3-D animation that takes you round the Singapore Grand Prix circuit, or you can load an animation showing the Red Bull Air Race circuit in London with links to YouTube videos of the real-life event.

An independent site, Google Sightseeing (googlesightseeing.com), features some of the wackier things you can see around the world using Google Earth, such as the world’s largest fingerprint (tinyurl.com/2ob6ow). Google Earth Blog, written by Frank Taylor (www.gearthblog.com), also suggests some interesting new features.

MAKING GEOGRAPHY FUN

Google Earth is obviously a geography lover’s paradise and there are plenty of applications, layers and KML files for it that are educational.

You can track the path of Hurricane Katrina that struck the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 or watch an animation showing the potential effects of rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

Or how about monitoring the strength and frequency of the latest earthquakes that have shaken the planet? Have a look at Google Earth Library (www.gelib.com) for some more ideas.

NOT ONLY GOOGLE

Google Earth isn’t the only planet-mapping show in town. Nasa’s World Wind (worldwind.arc.nasa.gov) is especially good for meteorology and geography, while Microsoft’s Virtual Earth (www.microsoft.com/virtualearth) has useful 3-D mapping, but is primarily targeted at businesses.

Skyline Globe’s TerraExplorer software (www.skylineglobe.com) employs satellite imagery and data layers much like Google Earth, although for the time being it concentrates only on the US and France (www.geoportail.fr).

Despite the offerings of such rivals, there’s no doubt that Google Earth is top dog – at least until there’s a bigger dog.