Google Encouraging Governments to Make Geospatial Data Available on Google Earth: Government of BC First In Canada

According to a Vancouver Sun article , British Columbia Agriculture and Lands Minister Stan Hagen announced that GeoBC will provide access to the province’s geographic database on Google so that you can access this database either at the GeoBC web site or from Google Earth.  GeoBC intends to have 200 themes posted by Autumn and 600 themes by early 2009.  Apparently British Columbia is the the first government in Canada to make its data available on Google. 

Making government geospatial data available via Google Earth is a major initiative of Google's.  I chatted with Michael Jones, chief technologist of Google Earth, at a recent government event in Sacramento, and he is encouraging all governments to make their geospatial data available via Google Earth including not just natural and cultural resource data, but property parcel files (cadastres).