For about a year, the satellite and aerial images in Google Earth and Google Maps have been informing and entertaining civilians across the planet, setting the stage for competing services such as Microsoft 's Virtual Earth and Yahoo Maps.

The technology that powers these free programs has become sophisticated enough to render terrestrial details in astounding clarity, in some regions at a resolution of 0.6 meters per pixel, taken from nearly 300 miles up.

The growing popularity of such applications, however, has led to questions about whether they are, in fact, compromising military secrets and national security.

Officials in India, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Israel, among other countries, apparently think so. Each nation has expressed alarm that these "interfaces to the planet," to adopt Google Earth's self-billing, could possibly provide no end of useful information to terrorists or hostile governments.

An Eye Toward Danger?

In 2005, for instance, Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam showed satellite and aerial photos of sensitive locations in his country -- pulled from the Internet -- at a conference of that country's police officers. He warned about the possible dangers that Google Earth and other "open-source intelligence" pose, especially for developing nations.

India has been in an on-again, off-again state of near-war for years with its neighbor, Pakistan. It has also been a target of major terrorist attacks.

"If you talk to the Indian government, they think [commercial satellite imaging ] is the worst thing that ever happened," says Theresa Hitchens, director of the Center for Defense Information in Washington, D.C. "They think it can help their enemies locate facilities."

In Sydney, Australia, the operators of the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor complained last year that Google Earth increased the likelihood of a terrorist attack on their facility. In the UK, officials in charge of nuclear plants have tried to block the availability of satellite photos of their facilities.

South Korean officials, representing another country in long-term near-war, have expressed concern that satellite photos of military installations and the presidential Blue House could offer informational aid to North Korea. The photos, they said, might even violate South Korean security laws.

But, like officials in other countries worried about satellite imaging, the South Koreans have acknowledged their inability to enforce restrictions against foreign companies. (continued...)

1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  Next Page >