Maybe you're looking for a used car. Would you like to see the seller's house on your screen?

Anyone familiar with Google Earth, the 3D-interface service blending satellite imagery with maps and the power of the Google search engine, will enjoy a similar service developed to enable viewers to visit locations as they cast around for restaurants, residential properties or resorts.

Named "i4Asia", the software engine has been developed using images taken by Ikonos, a commercial earth-observation satellite. "It gives you the ability to control satellite imagery. You can zoom in or out, tilt or rotate maps, roads, terrain and even buildings to get what you think is the best view," said Samard Doungwichitrkul, vice-president of domestic sales and marketing at Space Imaging Southeast Asia Co.

Space Imaging Southeast Asia is a subsidiary of Loxbit Co, known for high-resolution commercial satellite imagery, earth imagery and geo-spatial products and services.

Samard said i4Asia, developed over three years, would benefit people, businesses and organisations who could be developing a variety of applications. Space Imaging Southeast Asia has been in talks with its partners as well as companies to create services that run in parallel with the digital satellite maps.

It has joined TaladRod.com, an online marketplace where car buyers meet sellers directly, to come up with an automobile-specific service. Buyers search for used cars and request the map of a prospective seller's house for an appointment.

Flying over the map, they can zoom in or measure the distance to the nearest access.

As with Google Earth, users will get information about cars on the left of the screen, with the digital map being shown on the right.

The company has negotiated with publishing houses over news or headlines to go with the digital 3D image maps, taking readers to the relevant locations.

Samard said the engine would be useful for restaurants, buildings and establishments wishing to promote their services.

"The public-oriented services will be free and businesses advertising their wares will pay to use the engine," he said. The engine was also aimed at users in companies, organisations and government agencies wishing either to develop new applications for internal use or to commercialise what they have created for their customers. The company has PointAsia.com as its marketing arm.

To make buildings, shopping centres, schools and other landmarks display correctly in the form of 3D images, the company has joined with King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. The 3D buildings appear as light grey objects over the imagery of the city.

suchalee@nationgroup.com

Suchalee Pongprasert

The Nation