Fly Through 3D Mapping On The Way

Just popped through the letter box this morning is a new map software product that reckons it's going to 'change the way we view the country'.

Well, we don't know about that, but the newly announced PhotoScape 3D certainly looks like a very neat bit of kit. It's a PC-based, 3D map product that combines aerial photography with elevation data to create a realistic 3D landscape on your screen.

That's just the start of it though. Using game-style controls, you can 'fly' through the selected area at a speed and altitude of your choice and with a view angle you select. The screen shots we've seen look spectacular too with all the realism you'd expect from the use of Getmapping's Millennium Map - www.getmapping.com. It should be a fantastic way of bringing maps to life.

Initially available in October, PhotoScape 3D will be supplied as a 3-DVD boxed set priced at £24.99. That price includes the basic software engine plus one of 47 different regions of England and Wales. To unlock additional regions will cost £12.49 per area and the code will be available from the company's web site. If you unlock all the regions, you'll have a seamlessly navigable environment covering all of England and Wales.

Unfortunately, it'll cost you a smidgeon under 600 quid to do it, so not cheap if you feel an overpowering urge to roam virtually across, say, Milton Keynes or Basingstoke.

We have a pre-release demo copy here, unfortunately it's not Mac compatible, so it's winging its way to digital map man Alex Ford for a full and frank appraisal. Watch this space.