Google Maps for India got updated with much awaited free turn-by-turn voice instructions and traffic data features. Android users can download the updated Google Maps Navigation (Beta) for free and receive navigation and live traffic information. The live traffic data is available for major cities and comes from a variety of sources, including government agencies, private data providers, and users of Google Maps who send anonymous traffic data utilizing the crowdsourcing feature.

While navigation feature is only available to Android users now, live traffic data is accessible on desktop as well as iOS Google Maps application.

Google Earth is one of the successful projects from the company, and unlike numerous other Google Products is being continuously developed and upgraded with new features. After, textured 3D buildings Google Earth is soon going to offer 3D models of entire metropolitan areas on mobile devices.

Acknowledging the success to 45-degree aerial imagery, new rendering and computer vision techniques, Google says - creating 3D cityscapes, complete with buildings, terrain and landscaping is now easier and automated then earlier. Google plans to offer 3D coverage for metropolitan areas with a combined population of 300 million people by the end of this year. A video demonstration of new 3D cityscapes is posted after the jump.

As announced earlier India's own geographic information system (GIS) dubbed 'Bhuvan' is now available for download, currently under BETA release country's indigenous Google Earth is capable of Indian specific features not available in any other competing product, Bhuvan features multiple layers of information showing topography, altitude, depth weather and other features helpful in managing public services, internal security, town planning, and infrastructure development activities.

The web-based portal requires an initial plugin download in order to provide promising high-resolution 3-D satellite imagery with smooth video acceleration, Bhuvan offers images of the globe similar to Google Earth but provides best resolutions over the Indian sub-continent with ISRO having plans to expand high-resolution images globally.

After creating history by launching India's first moon mission Chandrayaan I, Indian space agency ISRO is all set to challenge Google Earth with it's own satellite mapping service dubbed "Bhuvan", the IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) image portal will provide satellite images similar to Google Earth and WikiMapia but with more precision and frequent updates, currently Google Earth provides single-layered images with zoom le

Google has released Google Earth browser plugin allowing users to enjoy full 3D digital maps within webpages, using the Javascript API developers can make use of this powerful platform to develop interesting 3D map applications and embed them directly onto webpages requiring just the browser plugin on the user's end to work.

Using the API developers can draw markers and lines, drape images over the terrain, add 3D models, and even load KML files, allowing them to build highly sophisticated and advanced 3D map applications, existing Google Map's can be 3D enabled by simply adding a single line of code.

Fake news is being circulated around the internet of new Google Earth 2008 download being available on a website with the name earth-2008.org, in reality the site in question is displaying Google Pack download as a part of Google Adsense Referrals advertising network the owner simply make upto $2 per download when the misinformed visitor downloads the OLD Google Earth thinking it as a new 2008 version.

Google advertising network usually takes strong actions against such tactics and the publisher in question might get his account banned pretty soon.