Nearly everyone knows about Google Maps API but less people know that there is also a Google Earth COM API. The Google Earth COM API allows third party applications to query information from and send commands to Google Earth. Through IApplicationGE, applications can query the current viewport, control the 3D viewpoint, use KML features, and more.

The file earth.idl is the original IDL for COM interface and documentation. There exists also wrapper for programming languages like C# or Java. This allows to use basic methods straigt forward.

I think the Google Earth COM API (which is currently in beta) is not promoted intensively by Google because most things should be done by KML itself.

[via http://earth.google.com/comapi]

Written and submitted from Home, using my 802.11g WiFi network.