Zoom-in Online

Google Earth 4.3 is out, with a bunch of new features. Among them: a Sunlight feature that allows for dawn-to-dusk lighting, improved "swoop" navigation, a "look" joystick for on-the-ground views, and 12 new languages.

Most exciting is the integration of Google Maps' Street View. Activate the Street View layer, double-click a camera icon, and you enter a cylindrical sub-reality within Google Earth. There, you're presented with a photographic panoramic view of the street and all its goings on. The quality leaves a lot to be desired, but the sheer volume of Manhattan street views is astounding: one every fours meters or so on main thoroughfares. Here's Times Square:

Google is also pushing for users to submit more 3D buildings through its SketchUp software. Here's Empire State viewed using the "look" joystick from the roof of a nearby building, and the skyline from the shores of Ellis Island:

Download the free version of Google Earth 4.3 here. Make sure you meet the system requirements, or you may be let down by a slow and wonky experience.