The Hermit
03-10-2008, 08:26 AM
From today's Times-Colonist
Google Earth deal to reveal B.C.
Maps could include airfields, wildlife and places to visit
ROB SHAWTimes Colonist
rfshaw@tc.canwest.com
The B.C. government is set to announce a deal with online search engine Google that will make it the first Canadian province to link its detailed forestry, mineral and topographical database into the popular Google Earth mapping software.
“To be able to link those together and provide the information in a tool many people have on their desktop is just great,” Agriculture Minister Pat Bell told the Times Colonist in an interview. “There’s just a tremendous amount of information ... and Google Earth has recognized we are light-years ahead of many jurisdictions. I think it is just really seen as a very big win-win for everyone.”
Google will tap into B.C.’s Integrated Land and Resource Registry, a wide-ranging database for government-owned Crown land, which accounts for 94 per cent of the province, Bell said. The database catalogues a bounty of public data, including park boundaries, logging roads, airfields, underground pipes and wires, wildlife habitat areas, forest tenures and areas designated as coal, mineral and gas reserves.
It also lists outfitter areas and could help people find nearby attractions while on trips throughout B.C., Bell said. “If you were going to travel throughout the province, you might want to know if there’s a helicopter tour in the area, for example,” he said.
Google says hundreds of millions of people use its free Google Maps search engine and Google Earth software, a version of which is also free. Bell said B.C. will benefit from the exposure. The province and Google are “within a month or so” of announcing more details and costs of the partnership.
Google officials could not be reached for comment. But the company’s chief technology officer, Michael Jones, said at a Vancouver conference last July that B.C. is the first Canadian province to supply such detailed information.
Meanwhile, individual B.C. municipalities are pushing forward with their own Googlerelated endeavours. Nanaimo is one of the most active cities in the world for submitting data to Google, Jones has said.
Last month, Nanaimo launched a service that plots calls to its fire department in real time through Google Maps, allowing users to watch what the fire department is doing at any given moment. The city also has mapped its downtown core in 3-D and provides virtual tours of Nanaimo attractions.
Google Earth deal to reveal B.C.
Maps could include airfields, wildlife and places to visit
ROB SHAWTimes Colonist
rfshaw@tc.canwest.com
The B.C. government is set to announce a deal with online search engine Google that will make it the first Canadian province to link its detailed forestry, mineral and topographical database into the popular Google Earth mapping software.
“To be able to link those together and provide the information in a tool many people have on their desktop is just great,” Agriculture Minister Pat Bell told the Times Colonist in an interview. “There’s just a tremendous amount of information ... and Google Earth has recognized we are light-years ahead of many jurisdictions. I think it is just really seen as a very big win-win for everyone.”
Google will tap into B.C.’s Integrated Land and Resource Registry, a wide-ranging database for government-owned Crown land, which accounts for 94 per cent of the province, Bell said. The database catalogues a bounty of public data, including park boundaries, logging roads, airfields, underground pipes and wires, wildlife habitat areas, forest tenures and areas designated as coal, mineral and gas reserves.
It also lists outfitter areas and could help people find nearby attractions while on trips throughout B.C., Bell said. “If you were going to travel throughout the province, you might want to know if there’s a helicopter tour in the area, for example,” he said.
Google says hundreds of millions of people use its free Google Maps search engine and Google Earth software, a version of which is also free. Bell said B.C. will benefit from the exposure. The province and Google are “within a month or so” of announcing more details and costs of the partnership.
Google officials could not be reached for comment. But the company’s chief technology officer, Michael Jones, said at a Vancouver conference last July that B.C. is the first Canadian province to supply such detailed information.
Meanwhile, individual B.C. municipalities are pushing forward with their own Googlerelated endeavours. Nanaimo is one of the most active cities in the world for submitting data to Google, Jones has said.
Last month, Nanaimo launched a service that plots calls to its fire department in real time through Google Maps, allowing users to watch what the fire department is doing at any given moment. The city also has mapped its downtown core in 3-D and provides virtual tours of Nanaimo attractions.