Wade Roush of Technology Review writes:

Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! are vying to transform online maps into full-blown browsers, organizing information via geography. The likely winner? You.

“Say you’re a fan of Paul Cezanne, and you’ve decided to fly to the Windy City to see his masterpieces at the Art Institute of Chicago. The only problem: you’ve never been to Chicago and have no idea where the Institute is or where to stay or eat.

No worries. You fire up Google Earth on your PC (it’s a free download at earth.google.com) and enter “Art Institute of Chicago” in the search box. Off to one side of the screen, a traditional list of search results appears, with the Art Institute at the top.

But the real action is in the central window, where Google Earth’s virtual camera zooms from an orbital view of North America down to a satellite image of downtown Chicago.

[Continue reading Killer Maps]