Google Inc. released new updates for Google Earth on Wednesday allowing users to place overlays on top of it s popular earth viewing software.

The Mountain View-based company has teamed up with the United Nations Environmental Program, Discovery Networks, and the National Park Service and others to place interactive content over regions of interest in its Google Earth software.

"We are excited to provide users with the opportunity to learn more about the natural wonders and manmade landmarks of the world with Featured Content for Google Earth,' said John Hanke, director, Google Earth and Maps. "We believe Google Earth is an excellent medium for organizing and sharing the world's geographic information and we continue to explore opportunities to bring visually compelling and informative content into Google Earth.'

Included in the new program are successive time-stamped images illustrating 100 areas of extreme environmental degradation around the world, including deforestation in the Amazon and fallout of forest fires.

The Discovery overlay lets users see major world attractions, cities, and natural wonders featuring streaming Discovery video segments.

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