Google has just released a new tool that visualizes search queries on its search engine from around the world. Called the Search Globe, the browser-based tool shows you where searches are coming from in a given day across the world. The visualization also shows the language of the majority of queries in an area in different colors.
Developed and designed by the Google Data Arts Team using WebGL, the backend of the technology uses your computer’s hardware to generate fast, 3D graphics. Google says that in order to use Search Globe you need a WebGL-enabled browser (like Google Chrome), to see the Globe.
Google has also open sourced the WebGL Globe so that developers can build their own globes using their own data.