The program was launched in collaboration with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, in an effort to raise the sensitivity of the public to the Darfur crisis and humanitarian crises in general.

A large portion of Central Africa is depicted in orange. By zooming in, the viewer reads the words “Crisis in Darfur” and finds flaming icons representing the 1,600 villages destroyed amidst the civil war in Sudan.

"People don't know where Darfur is, so that's the first thing … taking this event that's in the news and making it real to people," said McCool, who started the project two years ago while working in Google Earth's enterprise group.

Although there are no guarantees as to the efficiency of the program, it’s not a bad start, and is certainly oriented in the right direction.

"It's our hope that by combining this up-to-date satellite imagery with authoritative data and evidence from the ground in Google Earth we can make it harder for people to stand idly by when genocide happens,' " said Lawrence Swiader, the museum's chief information officer.

Will flaming icons be enough to awaken the public? First-hand news coverage will also be necessary.

Source: Courrier International – Los Angeles Times