via BoingBoing,

a post at OpenSource about Google Earth community members who have been flagging military sites in North Korea, and the current and retired defense analysts who go through and further identify those naval vessels or military bases.

One of the 5,000 GoogleEarth placemarks at bbs.keyhole.com with the words “North Korea”:

“After having a look at wikipedia, looks like the airbase nearby may be Taetan. Opened in 1995 to get to Seoul 20 mins quicker than usual…Meant to be home to Il28’s but they dont look like the planes at your marker. Tank barricades, seem quite feasible..”

I am assuming they are referring to this Wikipedia article listing equipment and airbases in North Korea. Regardless of how accurate or up-to-date these placemarks are, it’s remarkable how much information sharing civilians can do in the style of military intelligence agencies.

More information on where Google Earth, Microsoft Virtual Earth, and Yahoo Maps get their satellite/aerial photo data and why the U.S. government hasn’t blocked that data at NewsFactor Network.