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Spy In The Sky
Geoportail, France's much-heralded challenger to Google Maps, crashed on take-off on Friday as its server was overloaded by eager viewers.
Following a series of stories on French evening news, viewers swarmed to their PCs, eager to view the aerial photo website that reporters crowed had much better coverage than that provided by the US giant. On France 2, presenters compared Google's fuzzy coverage of French regions with the pin-sharp focus Geoportail's 400,000 aerial photos and 3,700 maps provided.
Unfortunately, the state didn't set aside any of the €6 million it splashed on the project on its servers: They were "saturated" by the demand, and Geoportail promptly shut down. An apology on the site promises that it will return soon.
Back to Google, then. Literally so, for France's would be snoops. Geoportail blurs certain French military complexes for security reasons - just as Google covered up sensitive installations in the US. However, as web magazine The Register has discovered, viewers need only look in Google Earth for clear photos of the sites the French government deems too sensitive for prying eyes.
The photo above shows part of Google's view of Toulon navy base - you can see the entire installation here, while the Register also peeks at an air force base at Avord.
