Photos: The best of Google Earth

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Around the world, via burning oil fields, topless sunbathers and Area 51...

Where else to start but above the GooglePlex in Mountain View, California.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
What did you say the architect's name was? A housing development in San Diego, just west of the city centre, across the bay on the North Island.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The Hollywood sign, California, USA.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The distinctive orange boiler suits of prisoners, clustering in the recreation yard at San Quentin prison, California.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
A man in Las Vegas about to open his car door.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Not a shark in the pool of a Bond villain but rather a dolphin in Siegfried and Roy's Secret Garden at the Mirage hotel in Las Vegas.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Nellis Air Force base, Nevada - better known to UFO conspiracy theorists as Area 51. On this image you can clearly make out the multiple runways where planes such as the B2 Stealth Bomber were tested.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Mysterious green circles in the desert just a few miles from Area 51.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Monument Valley in Arizona, USA

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
'We know where you live,' says Google to archrival Microsoft. This is Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Leaning towers of Manhattan. The Empire State building appears to be leaning to the left, while a neighbouring building two blocks southwest appears to be leaning to the right.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
London's Trafalgar Square, swamped with visitors for an event being staged between the fountains.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in Northamptonshire, UK.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Blackpool, one of the most famous seaside resorts in the UK, and the Blackpool Tower, an equally famous landmark. Paris has nothing on it.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
A farmer mows a profane field between Barnsley and Doncaster in the North of England.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
A more traditional crop pattern, just down the road from the profanity on the previous page - is this the work of aliens or another farmer playing a prank? We think it's probably the latter.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Over Tower Bridge and adjacent to the Tower of London is Silicon Towers, home of the silicon.com team.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Possibly London's most controversial landmark, the Dome which occupies a kink in the Thames as it flows through East London.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
An airplane in the skies, southwest of Godalming, Surrey, UK.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
A German U-boat on mud flats in Kent, southeast England.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The first 'smiley'? The gardens of Versailles, outside Paris, France.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
A topless woman sunbathing in Den Haag, Netherlands.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo. The tourist board may choose to shoot them looking into the desert but Google Earth reveals just how close the sprawling city is to these ancient wonders.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Palm Island, Dubai

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Oil fields burning, south of Basra in Iraq.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Mount Everest and the Himalayas seen from the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The Forbidden City it may be but very few places escape Google Earth's gaze.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Uluru, formerly Ayer's Rock, in the Northern Territory, Australia.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
Wolf Creek meteorite crater, Australia.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The Great Barrier Reef as it would appear from the outer reaches of our atmosphere.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon
The ancient monuments of Teotihuacan, Mexico.

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Published: November 6, 2006 -- 17:50 GMT (09:50 PST)
Caption by: Will Sturgeon