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Two years ago, Berlin was the first city in Germany to make available a photorealistic, three dimensional model on the internet via Google Earth. Gradually, the model was linked to databases reflecting the city as a business metropolis. As a result, the locations of the music industry can now be viewed, for example. Or, because of the real estate database kept by the Business Location Center having been integrated, Google Earth users will now find exposés for those commercial properties that are available for sale or rent in the city.
Presenting geodata in 3-D is a megatrend on the web that this re-launch of the 3-D virtual city model has picked up. And here as well, Berlin is a trailblazer since it is the first city that can be searched and explored on Google Earth in practically all of its aspects. In order to create the model, aerial photographs were taken of approximately 500,000 buildings located on the 890 km2 of the city’s area while their roofs were scanned and measured using laser technology. In addition, around 80 tourist attractions were modeled in detail. Five Berlin landmarks (the Olympic Stadium, Sony Center, the Reichstag Building, DZ-Bank and the main train station [Hauptbahnhof]) can even be explored from the inside.
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