AUCKLAND, New Zealand (15 Apr 2007) -- Visitors to Google Earth can now drill down into images of New Zealand to find travel information supplied by Tourism New Zealand. The government agency has formatted its newzealand.com website as a "layer" on Google Earth called "100% Pure NZ", which Google has added to its popular free software application. It lists tourism information centres, towns and scenic highlights, which visitors can click on to find more information. Tourism New Zealand spokeswoman Simone Flight says this is the first time Google has used information from a tourism authority to create a layer on Google Earth. No money changed hands and little in-house development was required, she says. Craig Nevill-Manning, originally from Blenheim and now head of engineering at Google New York, returned to New Zealand last week to promote the partnership. "From our point of view, it's great for our users. It's important people using Google Earth have access to the best-quality data." He expects similar partnerships with tourism agencies in other countries will follow. "Once the Tourism New Zealand layer is seen, I imagine they will be forging a path for other countries." Start-ups such as Wellington's Zoomin and Auckland's GeoSmart, now owned by the AA, as well as established mapping companies such as Wises, have given Google's web-based mapping service Google Maps a run for its money in New Zealand, setting up sophisticated websites that compete with Google by letting businesses list their services on searchable, interactive maps. Dr Nevill-Manning, who has been with Google six years, says users will decide which services win out. | 
