Autodesk is introducing Autodesk Civil 3D 2007 Extension for Google Earth – Technology Preview, designed specifically for civil engineers and surveyors.

Engineers and surveyors can rapidly publish Civil 3D objects and design data in Google Earth, allowing all project constituents to create, manage and share design projects with extended teams and enhance the materials they publish with rich and interactive context. Colleagues can view and navigate a design project inside the web application, using a .KML file that can be opened directly in Google Earth. To provide project views from different vantage points, designers can include such visualization capabilities as realistic “drive-throughs� along road centerlines and snapshots of locations.

Inside Google Earth, team members can add layers of data, including buildings, transportation systems and more to enhance a subject site with additional surrounding area context

“Tapping into Google Earth geospatial visualization capabilities, Autodesk’s utility delivers a significant leap forward in terms of sharing complex design data with both professional and technical audiences who have an interest in following the planning, building and management of vital infrastructure projects,� said Gary Lang, vice president of Autodesk’s Infrastructure Solutions Division.

To run the Autodesk Civil 3D 2007 Extension for Google Earth—Technology Preview, users must have Autodesk Civil 3D 2007 software installed as well as Google Earth (Autodesk’s extension is compatible with the free version of Google Earth, as well as Google Earth Plus and Google Earth Pro).