WebProNews

Google has partnered with The New York Times to allow users to track the news geographically in a layer on Google Earth.

Users can follow the news by location (city, state, country, neighborhood) and by section (U.S., Foreign, Sports, Travel). Items on the layer are mapped based on place names given to each article when it is uploaded to NYTimes.com. The items include headlines and the first paragraph with links back to the full story or that particular section.

Google Earth New York Times
(Photo Credit: Google LatLong Blog)

On the Lat Long Blog, Wei Luo, Tech Lead Manager, Google Earth writes, "To experience this new way of getting your daily dose of news, launch the latest version of Google Earth and make sure the 'Geographic Web' folder is turned on."

"Click on a New York Times placemark and you will see the latest news and features pertaining to that geographic region. Want to see more than just headlines? Click on the "Show this layer" button at the top of the preview bubble and you'll get a list of news articles dating back one month."

This is the first time Google has worked with a news organization to offer news in real time. The Times layer is updated every 15 minutes pulling new stories from NYTimes.com. The layer includes articles from the last 30 days. The new layer was developed by the Times Company's Research and Development group.