Hamburg to become first 3D city in Google Earth

Wow, this is just awesome: My hometown Hamburg has sponsored a project to model a large part of the city in 3D. The models are based on over 1000 pictures of downtown Hamburg taken by a low-flying plane and should be available in Google Earth soon. Google also offers a free 3D modeling software called sketchup, that anyone can use to model and contribute additional buildings.

There's a short post on the Google Earth Blog, and be sure to check out the pictures and a video of the project from the German magazine Spiegel.