Plain Text: Google Sightseeing

Thanks to the submissions, visitors to the site were treated to a photo of the three-mile long ion collider at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York. They also got a good shot of the infamous Nevada military installation known as Area 51. Alex also posted a satellite image of a field in Bunker Hill, Ill., where a guy named Dave had carved his first name in giant letters--perhaps the world's largest graffiti tag.

Today, the Google Sightseeing site draws 15,000 virtual tourists a day. The boys from Edinburgh post many images in thematic groups: major sports stadiums, and rocket facilities such as the Space Shuttle launch pad at Cape Canaveral. They've got hundreds of reader submitted photos queued up, waiting to make the cut. Alex is particularly excited about a satellite image of the Universal Studios backlot in Los Angeles, where the "Desperate Housewives" neighborhood is actually visible in the photo.

Alex is beginning to feel well-traveled. "It's total escapism for us," he says. But it's not a replacement for grabbing the passport and getting on a plane. In fact, it's feeding his itch to travel the world. But first, he has more countries to explore. Google is planning to expand the Keyhole service to other countries, beginning with the U.K. Turnbull's readers are already packing their bags.

© 2005