308 Part IV — Google Earth Hacks
Wrapping Up
The Google Earth application provides a different environment for viewing the Google satel-
lite images in a method that also adds additional layers of information, such as terrain and 3D
buildings. The information displayed is the same as Google Maps, but the methods that are
available to extend the Google Earth application are different and rely on an XML-based for-
mat called KML.KML is limited to providing additional data points for overlaying on top of the Google Earth
data. There is little of the interactivity provided within Google Maps and the browser, but the
Google Earth application provides a richer environment for displaying some types of data.
Now that you know the basics of Google Earth and what the KML format is capable of, you
can examine some samples of overlays that use the data generated in the previous Google Maps
examples, but using the KML format in Google Earth.