3pointD.com

From the Metaverse in Real-World Governance department: the BBC ran an interesting story recently about the possibility that Iraqis might be able to use Google Earth to plan escape routes and make themselves safer from terrorist and milita attacks. [Spotted via Clipmarks.] “As the communal bloodshed has worsened, some Iraqis have set up advice websites to help others avoid the death squads. One tip — on the Iraq League site, one of the best known — is for people to draw up maps of their local area using Google Earth’s detailed imagery of Baghdad so they can work out escape routes and routes to block,” writes the Beeb.

I couldn’t find the top (I’m not even entirely sure that’s the right Iraq League site), but the concept is interesting. If true, and if people are really using Google Earth in this way, it’s a good example of how technology can help people in straitened situations. However — and this is a big caveat — I know from our friend in Baghdad that electricity is so scarce there these days that this scheme may be impractical for most of the city’s residents. Power is cut off entirely in some areas and there is only one generator to serve many families in a neighborhood. So while the idea is sound, the state of affairs in Baghdad is currently too far deteriorated to make it very effective, it seems.

Which is not surprising. Technology is empowering, but it needs a stable foundation on which to operate. It may be some time before things like Google Earth are of much use to Baghdadis. But the concept itself is a good example of how various metaversal technologies can be used to improve living conditions in a variety of situations. It would be nice to hear some more.