WHO would have thought a map of the world could have been a force for good?

That certainly appears to have happened with Google Earth and its ‘Crisis in Darfur’ project.

And once again technology and the worldwide web have shown how they can raise awareness, promote understanding and increase communication between people.

Google has got together with the Holocaust Memorial Museum in the United States to enable millions of internet users to see for themselves the human impact of the crisis in Darfur.

Satellite imagery is combined with photography, paper maps, tables, text and other data to present a graphic and powerful account of the genocide in western Sudan.

Instead of looking at their back garden, or their local town centre, on Google Earth, internet users can also now see for themselves the tragedy of Darfur as it has unfolded.

Instead of being witnessed only by a handful of military through spy satellites, millions of people have been able to download Google Earth to see for themselves the villages destroyed by genocide and the sprawling refugee camps which have been created.

Soon, no doubt, video and sound will also be available, making an even more powerful impact.

Combining the internet and technology like this is bringing far-flung corners of the globe to our fingertips.

We can only hope that the advent of such unprecedented global access to information may one day be able to prevent such tragedies happening.