Pausing the Real-World Sightings experiment

[Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long Blog]

On Friday, we prematurely launched a feature called “Real-World Sightings,” showcasing fantastical creatures our users have spotted around the world. We’ve rolled back the test, but wanted to share an explanation in case you came across any surprising images in Google Earth and Google Maps.

We’re always working to provide an up-to-date, accurate reflection of the real world through our products. On Friday, we learned of many additional sightings through reports submitted by our users, and we have decided to pause the beta until we can provide more comprehensive coverage of these mystical creatures.

For those of you who are curious about this brief experiment, check out the slideshow below to see all of the images and the locations included in the test.

We’d also like to take a moment to thank the Google SketchUp users who helped us create the 3D models for this experiment: Aerilius, Athinaios,  Bdhy, BerylDrue, Fingerz, Jan Wesbuer, KangaroOz, NESUA, and Zoungy.

Posted by Scott Shawcroft, Software Engineer