A Washington University student project is bringing Google maps to life. The Media and Machines Lab at the University has brought Project Live3D to the internet. Project Live3D is an internet application, accessed through www.projectlive3d.com, which uses Web cameras and Google Earth scenes to forge a correspondence between the 3-D world and 2-D images, allowing users to see current images of international locations in 3-D.

While students may use Google Earth to look at their hometowns or vacation spots, the Washington University faculty employs the program in research for anthropology, ecology, public health and geology—just to name a few disciplines.