The Sound of Nature, in Google Earth

New Scientist reports that a passionate collector of nature sounds created a software that integrates the sounds in Google Earth. "Bernie Krause has spent 40 years collecting over 3500 hours of sound recordings from all over the world, including bird and whale song and the crackle of melting glaciers. His company, Wild Sanctuary in Glen Ellen, California, has now created software to embed these sound files into the relevant locations in Google Earth."

The software will be launched on May 29 at Where 2.0 conference, but you can hear some of the sounds at Wild Sanctuary's Flash site.

"Maps have traditionally been two-dimensional reference points. Even with 3D perspectives an essential component has been missing--the soundscape. Like the soundtrack to a film, this final element not only answers the question Where am I? but informs the viewer what they can expect to find either in a virtual or actual visit," explains Mr. Krause.

Google Earth already integrates content from National Geographic, Discovery and other sources: photos, videos, live webcams, articles, but most of them are loaded outside Google Earth, in a web browser.