Iran Launches 'Islamic Google Earth'

Tehran is planning to launch its own 3D mapping service, after accusing Google Earth of being a spying tool used by western agencies. Tehran is planning to launch its own 3D mapping service after Iranian authorities have long accused Google Earth of being a spying tool used by western agencies, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported. The Islamic Republic’s minister for information and communications technology, Mohammad Hassan Nami, announced this week that Iran is developing “Islamic Google Earth”, which is expected to be ready for use “within the next four months.”

Nami, a former deputy chairman of Iran's joint chiefs of staff and the armed forces, was appointed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the new technology minister in February. According to local media reports, Nami is also a PhD graduate in "country management" from North Korea's Kim Il-sung University. "We are doing our best to launch the Islamic Google Earth in the next four months as an Islamic republic's national portal, providing service on a global scale," he added. "On the surface, Google Earth is providing a service to users, but in reality security and intelligence organizations are behind it in order to obtain information from other countries," Nami said. The minister did not elaborate on Iran’s version of Google maps or what features would make it inherently “Islamic.”