India Protests Google Earth

Oh, the headaches that come with being the world's most used search engine. Google, Inc. has angered India with its new mapping service. Google Earth depicts part of Kashmir as belonging to Pakistan. The area, which has been a continuous source of conflict between India and Pakistan, is claimed by the New Delhi government. Not surprisingly, the Indians want it changed.

The Times of India has the story:

"A letter has been sent to the chairman of the executive committee and chief executive officer of Google Inc. drawing attention to the wrong depiction of India's boundaries," Minister of State for External Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

"The Indian embassy in Washington has also been instructed to take up the matter with Google Inc," he added.

The political map of the subcontinent in Google Earth shows the region that India calls Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, or PoK, and Pakistan calls it 'Azad (free) Kashmir', as being a part of Pakistani territory.