National Geographic 3-D Earth

National Geographic 3D Globe is a software program that enables users to see a three-dimensional view of the Earth's surface. It provides thousands of high-resolution satellite photos and links them into the three-dimensional views. The software also includes views of over 400,000 cities and towns, physical features, borders, and topography. Detailed information about countries, their climate, population, history, and other aspects, is provided in depth. There is also much information provided about natural features such as lakes, rivers, mountains, and volcanoes. 3D Globe can accompany Windows 98, Windows 2000, XP, and Vista.
The audience for this software can be of any age, and can be used for any type of social studies class. It could also be used at home as a reference or as a research tool. You can learn more about this tool by going to various websites that sell the software, such as Amazon.com ( http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Presents-3D-Globe/dp/B00032HEXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1238820258&sr=8-1). Reviews posted by users of the software are also presented on Amazon. Another useful site is Greenstreet Online ( http://greenstreet-online.com/Products/0092939206738V0100/National-Geographic--3D-Globe.html). This site shows pictures from the software.
I think that 3D Globe is very useful for the classroom because it gives detailed pictures of what certain physical features and cities will look like if you were up close. Many students will never visit in person distant places on the other side of the world, and this gives them a chance to see what those places look like. The information encyclopedia provided within the software will greatly assist students who are assigned a project about a country or a world region. The information is very detailed, and thus it is one advantage it has over other mapping programs like Google Earth.