if you haven't taken a look yet, go to www.earth.google.com
takes a modest sized download and you can use the limited service for free.
google has added a new dimension to the web search engine, this one geographic. as i've had it explained, the digital imagery is being streamed via a new torrent-type format that helps it load lightning fast. i'm still working on how to use the features.. spent a lot of time just wowed by how much imagery could be accessed. found old houses i've lived in, found the pyramids at giza, found a little german town i used to live in, the coliseum in rome, ground zero in nyc... they've even got 3-d models of the buildings in nyc so you can view the skyline. if they start rendering the terrain on elevation models and get the meter-resolution type hi-res for more of the country.. well, i'll never stop looking at it.
this is a hell of a technological breakthrough.