Earth Album Mashes Google and Flickr to Show You the World

If you've ever wanted to see Mongolia but couldn't find the time, or you're stuck in a cubicle and dreaming of your trip to Fiji, Earth Album wants to help. The service is deceptively simple, but it's one of the coolest Google Maps and Flickr mashups I've seen. Simply drag the map around like any other Google Map, and as you click on locations around the world, photos from Flickr tagged with that location's name are displayed over the map.

Virtually every part of the world is represented at Earth Album. The service is great for the occasional desktop vacation, when boring cubicle walls just aren't enough to keep you inspired, or if you're curious about what a certain part of the world or its people look like. The map behaves like any other Google Map, you can click and drag the map around or use the directional buttons in the upper-left corner of the map. Zoom in and out on the map by using the mouse wheel or the controls on the map.

When you find a location you're interested in, simply click on its name on the map, and a stream of Flickr photos tagged with that country, city, or region will appear on the screen. Click on any one of them to see a larger version of the photo and to read the caption the user added when he or she uploaded the photo to Flickr. If you're looking for a specific place, you can click the link at the top of the screen to "find a place" and a search box will appear on the screen. Type in your destination, and the map will jump to any place in the world, and display photos tagged with that location.

The beauty of Earth Album is that you really do get a feeling for how big the world is by scrolling around and seeing all of the different places but you also get a feeling for how personal it is to the people who live in or visit those same places. You can click on areas of the planet, no matter how remote, and find photographs from that location, even if those photographs are of wildlife or rolling landscapes. Additionally, you can let the service bring up photos from your area by clicking the "find yourself" link at the top of the page.

For those days when cubicle walls get you down and the commute home doesn't scratch that itch to see the world, Earth Album can take you anywhere in the world. From entire countries to tiny cities and towns, all it takes is a few clicks to show photos from almost any part of the planet.