UK postcode data to be set free in 2010
by Google Earth Blog on Dec.14, 2009, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA
A few years ago, we told you about the awesome looking Virtual London project. CASA (Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis) had built a massive 3.3 million 3D model collection of London, which was intended for Google Earth. All of the buildings were gray, but they were in the process of photo-texturing them for added realism.
However, the project came to an abrupt halt when the UK government refused to grant them a license to use the data in Google Earth. Here's a video they created a few years ago showing what they had built so far:
Now it seems the project may have a chance. According to an article on BBC News (thanks Will for the tip), the government is planning to make the postcode data free for use in April 2010. In particular, it says "...making Ordnance Survey mapping and postcode datasets available for free reuse from April 2010." (emphasis ours).
We'll find out for sure in April, but this seems to be a very positive development.