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Why can't I toggle between map view and satellite imagery in Google Earth as I can in Google Maps? Is there an easy way to add Map View to Google Earth?

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2 Answers

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There is a Google AppSpot website that will let you overlay Google Maps (and many others) in Google Earth for Free (You do need have a gmail account and allow the site monitor your usage)

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http://ge-map-overlays.appspot.com/

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That is very nice! Thank You – Jakub Oct 22 '11 at 1:58
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Google doesn't allow it. There are some folks in the Google Earth Forums that have found some "unofficial" workarounds: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/earth/thread?tid=4a722cff2ea80a5c&hl=en. Complied from a few posts on those forums:

http://www.gelib.com/google-maps.htm

http://www.mgmaps.com/kml/

http://bernhard.sterzbach.de/googlemapsoverlay.html

http://ge-map-overlays.appspot.com/

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Why doesn't Google allow it? – Jakub Oct 21 '11 at 14:29
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their app, their data, their rules. – iant♦ Oct 21 '11 at 14:44
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I couldn't find any official documentation but, my guess is that it has to do with the licensing of the third-party data Google uses for the map tiles. Google Maps is free to use, but Google Earth, in addition to the free version, has a license structure. That may be preventing Google from using that data in Google Earth. – Casey Oct 21 '11 at 14:46

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