Slashgeo

The EO Portal announces the launch of the African Geo Information Researcher Network (AGIRN) portal. From the portal: "Over many years our research has shown that Africa has a fragile but vibrant geoinformation industry that is producing some of the information needed for use in decision-making. In some instances the work that is being done on the continent is of an international standard and requires recognition. Furthermore, the decision makers need to be made aware of what geoinformation is available so that it can be more effectively used in the development of policies, strategies and in the implementation of development programmes."

The Google Earth Blog has information about the Google Maps data update for Eastern Europe and Asia. From the blog: "GoogleMapsMania has blogged that Google has released new data for the following countries with new roads/streets maps: * Russia * Turkey * Taiwan * Thailand * Croatia * Slovenia * Lithuania * Estonia"

Ogle Earth shares news about Google inroads in Africa with its Office opening in Kenya. From the blog: "The second thing they want to develop is their Maps product to make sure it has local information that is searchable and useful. [...] With the Google Earth Pro Grants program and increased capacity we're looking at some substantive changes for the aid community."

The Fantom Planet blog discuss the announcement of China and Brazil offering free CBERS imagery to African countries. Here's the official CBERS website and the incomplete wikipedia page. The article's introduction: " China and Brazil will give Africa free satellite imaging of its landmass to help the continent respond to threats like deforestation, desertification and drought, the two countries said Wednesday. A land imaging satellite launched by the two governments at a cost of some 100 million dollars in September, would relay images, updated monthly, to four ground stations for dissemination to African states." Several Africa-related stories below.

Early last month the Bull's Ramble blog informs us South Africa now gets 10-m satellite imagery in NASA World Wind [several screenshots]. From the blog: "The data is from SPOT 5 provided by SpotImage and collected in 2005, it is currently only 10m resolution but looks gorgeous [...]" See also related stories below. Related to NWW, we also learn JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is using NWW to visualize data of their latest lunar explorer KAGUYA, making me wonder about the developments to their GLOBALBASE project. Update: 02/05 17:01 GMT by S : Here's a project called Africa@Home, which, similarly to SETI@Home, harness the crunching power of home computers: "The first application being developed for AFRICA@home is called MalariaControl.net. This application models the way malaria spreads in Africa and the potential impact that new anti-malarial drugs may have on the region." (via Kelly Lab blog)