The fourth incarnation of Google Earth was released this week with some interesting new features being heralded by enthusiasts. A new 3D building layer has been added in answer to Microsoft’s Virtual Earth 3D beta.

A new GPS manufacturer is the first to add an in-car local search engine to its features, and the umpteenth millionth company to issue a rotten press release. But let’s stick to the good news. Dash Navigation’s soon-to-be-released GPS device will feature Yahoo! Local search.

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.”

Never let it be said that Google doesn’t embrace the holiday season. From various logo designs to free Google Checkout use, Google has always been very festive during the month of December.

The most recent round of elections had a lot of people thinking about the Internet’s role in politics. Most onlookers agree that it is becoming increasingly important; Google’s CEO, Eric Schmidt, believes that politicians must adapt. “The ones that take advantage of this most effectively will be the ones that will be the winners of the next election,” he said.

Users of the Gaia project’s open source utility for viewing the data normally available to Google Earth clients have been asked to stop using it in the wake of a cease and desist request from Google.

Opensource three dimensional Earth viewer Gaia received a cease and desist letter from head Google Earth technologist, effectively ending their world.

Telespial Systems is providing government agencies from around the world the tools needed to help manage and deploy asset and geographical data during times of emergency.

Since October 2005, Volkswagen and Google have been collaborating to develop a revolutionary new kind of navigation system that will change the way we travel.

Google is usually on the cutting edge, or at least near it. The company’s latest “innovations” are intentionally out of date, though. Google Earth will now feature historical maps dating back as far as the 17th century.

Not sure if anyone else noticed this or not but did you catch the graphics that are being used by ABC news and Good Morning America etc… to show the results of the election?

Virtual Earth 3D launched from Microsoft as a response to Google’s Earth program, with Microsoft’s version running in the browser as a plug-in instead of as a separate program.

As with any self-respecting blogger, I hate to say anything positive about Microsoft because they are synonymous with evil (just kidding!), but I must admit that the latest update to Virtual Earth – or whatever we’re supposed to be calling it nowadays, which is probably Windows Live Web Search Satellite Virtual 3-D Planet – is pretty damn cool.

Ionut. Alex reports that Google Earth now contains an information layer about the upcoming U.S. midterm elections.

A number of farmers in India were going to have their land taken away. They would have been compensated, but now, thanks to Google Earth, they may get to keep the land, or at least receive more money for it.

You gotta hand it to Yahoo. When they do a publicity stunt, they do it right. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company plans to beam a digitized time capsule into space from an ancient Mexican pyramid.

Need a guided tour about what’s going on the world? Google announced the addition of Featured Content, a collection of multimedia overlays in Google Earth. The Featured Content offering informs users about the environment, culture, history, wildlife and attractions world locations.

Heheh, a little cross-company smack talk going on over on the Virtual Earth blog.

In attempt to lure more people to book their next flight with British Airways, the airline has added Google Earth imagery to their web site, reports Forbes.

Tracking Ramses using GE.. Archaeology enthusiasts, Egyptian history buffs, or simply anyone interested in great feats of engineering can witness Ramses’ 24-hour journey from Cairo in Google Earth with the click of a mouse.

The latest Google Earth user report stirring up conspiracy theory and head scratching is the image of a Chinese military site that is a scale replica of the ancient country’s border with India, mountains and all.