Google Earth 5.0 beta released. Includes oceans and Mars

Now with Google Earth you can plunge into the ocean to take a virtual tour of the ocean floor. Drop below the surface and explore a detailed map of the ocean floor and thousands of data points including videos and images of ocean life, details on the best surf spots, logs of real ocean expeditions, and much more. Open the "Ocean" folder in the Layers panel to explore the 20 content layers of the ocean. Double click on the “Explore the Ocean” layer and it will fly you to my Ocean Overview video and ten focus areas with National Geographic video clips. Other layers include dynamic sea surface temperature, Census of Marine Life data, Marine Protected Areas, shipwrecks, dive and surf sites, Arkive images, Planet Earth footage from the BBC, and much more. You can even visit a 3D model of the undersea laboratory Aquarius and fly to the Titanic and follow the expedition that discovered it.

The other exciting feature of Google Earth 5.0 is the historical imagery. Google Earth now allows you to go back in time and view images of the earth as it looked even decades in the past. By moving back and forth in time you can witness the changes over time. Try flying south of San Francisco in Google Earth and turning on the new time slider (click the "clock" icon in the toolbar) to witness the transformation of Silicon Valley from a farming community to the tech capital of the world over the past 50 years or fly to the polar caps to see the melting ice.

We aren’t done yet. Now with Google Earth you to leave earth and fly off towards Mars. You can access a 3D map of the red planet featuring the latest high-resolution imagery, 3D terrain, and annotations showing landing sites and lots of other interesting features.

The ability to now record your explorations enable you to enjoy them again and again, and also create your own tours to share with your friends.

Checkout the tour video.