Why isn't Beirut burning in Google Earth?
Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
Bombs have been falling on Lebanon for two weeks now. The news is all over the Web. But, as a generous tipster pointed out: In Google Earth, the skies over Beirut are clear, the grass is green and the buildings are standing.
What' up, Google?
A Google representative said the freshness of the images is solely the responsibility of Digital Globe, the company that provides satellite images to Google Earth. "Google has no editorial control or control over the time line," she said.
She couldn't say how often new images are streamed to Google, but said that, on average, images for any one location are updated every year to 18 months.