Google speaking to govt to dispel security concerns

sriMaintaining that its satellite pictures of sensitive installations posed no threat to India, global online search engine Google said on Monday that it was in dialogue with the government to dispel secruity concerns.
Officials have in the recent past expressed concern over Google Earth's display of pictures of key Indian installations, including military bases, offices of the prime minister and the President, as well as nuclear facilities.
"Google Earth is built from information that is already available from a wide range of both commercial and public sources. As such, Google Earth presents no appreciable threat to security, given the wide commercial availability of high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery of every country in the world," a Google spokesperson said, speaking from from the company headquarters in California.
He added - "Google has been talking and will continue to talk to the Indian government about any security concerns it may have regarding Google Earth. We are pleased to have the dialogue, which has been substantive and constructive."
Anyone who flies above or drives by a piece of property can obtain the same information and no government with which Google has discussed Google Earth has, after study and examination, presented an objection to Google Earth, the spokesperson added.
To highlight the constructive use of Google Earth's pictures, the spokesperson said,"Google's freely available technology has been used for vital purposes ranging from fighting forest fires to emergency response, rescue, and relief in natural disasters such as the Kashmir earthquake relief efforts and the Mithi River Floodplain Project."