PA Gets Special Treatment From Google Earth

Google has a lot of fans, and has made friends with any number of businesses. Now the company has befriended the state of Pennsylvania. The "Google Earth geospatial image browser" is set to launch "on the official tourism website of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, VisitPA.com." "The Commonwealth . . . is providing a $285,000 grant to support this Google Earth partnership," according to an official statement, and the "spatial image browsing will be available in early 2007." So if you want to take a closer look at Amish country, or the steel industry, you'll soon have your chance. Mickey Rowley, Pennsylvania's Deputy Secretary for Tourism, explained the expenditure. "Pennsylvania is once again solidifying its position as an industry leader in tourism by not only embracing emerging technologies, but by building them for the industry," he said. "This is a system that other state, regional, and destination management organizations will be able to use." While those comments sound rather press release-y, the Google Earth development does appear to be part of a trend for the state. In mid-November, murdok responded to a CNET article on the subject. "While it's hard for me to believe that anyone would actually like to see this dismal state, with its hideous gloomy weather and unfriendly service overall, I actually think the tourism department is halfway competent," he wrote. "They run pretty good radio commercials, and this Google Earth idea actually seems pretty clever and cool to me." If you'd like to see the VisitPA site before it gets the Google Earth upgrade, it's available murdok. Visit