News: Looking through the Keyhole at Google's 3D mapping plans

To most people, Internet mapping means simple 2D diagrams used to plot driving directions on sites like Yahoo. But 3D mapping products seem to be on the horizon, if Google's recent purchase of imaging company Keyhole is any indication.

Keyhole's flagship product, Keyhole 2 Pro, specializes in taking satellite images of geographic features and rendering them as three-dimensional maps which can be rotated and measured, as well as marked up with driving routes, important features, business locations, departure points and destinations. The software also allows users to "fly" to or over a location. A demo of the software that shows a flight over Boston gives you an idea of some of Keyhole 2 Pro's capabilties.

The Keyhole 2 Pro website lists other features:

• Drag and drop site plans and easily scale and rotate to fit – full control of sizing and positioning


• Import data from popular mapping applications. Examples include ESRI .SHP files, MapInfo .TAB files, MicroStation .DGN, GeoTiffs, and NTFs


• Assign custom icons to your locations – identify sites of interest and even mark competitor locations with their logos


• Control map font and size


• Area Measurement - easily measure the square footage of a building or the acreage of a piece of property


• Filled polygon support allows you to visualize map application analyses within the Keyhole context


• Table view (spreadsheet) window allows view of full attribute data


• Reset to True North and Full Tilt


• On-screen readings of lat, lon, and elevation

Keyhole 2 Pro software seems aimed at developers, construction companies, event planners, municipal officials, and other professionals with an interest in geographic data. The $500 package allows users share and manipulate geographic data, as well as create presentations and website animations. Less-expensive Keyhole products are aimed at other types of users, such as webmasters who want to create interactive maps to post on the Internet, or home buyers who want to research a particular neighborhood's layout and demographic profile.

As for Google's plans for Keyhole, the company has yet to integrate the Keyhole products with the Google interface. However, a Google press release says "This acquisition gives Google users a powerful new search tool, enabling users to view 3D images of any place on earth as well as tap a rich database of roads, businesses and many other points of interest. Keyhole is a valuable addition to Google's efforts to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful."