A virtual reality version of Google Earth is now available for free on the HTC Vive, letting users explore reconstructed cultural treasures, global landmarks, or (for some) their own homes in VR. Google Earth VR has been in development for some time, and it bears conceptual similarity to the version of Street View that Google released on its Cardboard and Daydream platforms. But where Street View offers strings of photospheres collected by 360-degree cameras, users of Earth VR can virtually fly freely around a topographical reconstruction of the globe, or take guided tours of places like Manhattan and Monument Valley.

For now, Earth VR is Vive-only, although VR Apps product manager Mike Podwal says Google is “actively exploring support…

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