We can't count the number of times we've wished we could embed an interactive globe on our web sites. That's probably because it's hard to figure out how to count to zero. But if you really want a Google Earth-like globe on your page, Poly9's got you covered. The company's FreeEarth bears a superficial resemblance to Google Earth or Microsoft's Virtual Earth. But unlike those applications, FreeEarth is Flash based and can be customized and added to pretty much any web site.
A handful of popular web visualizations are already built on FreeEarth, including Flickervision 3D an Twittervision 3D. Because the software is built in Flash, most web surfers will be able to interact with the globe by spinning it around or zooming in for city-level details without downloading any additional software.
But FreeEarth doesn't have the level of detail that you'll find in desktop applications like Google Earth or Virtual Earth. You can zoom in far enough to make out buildings, but only if you squint. And it takes much longer for FreeEarth to load new satellite imagery when you zoom in.
[via WebWare]
