While this may look like a photo of New York City, it isn't. It's actually a shot of NYC taken from inside Google Earth, thanks to a new update that introduces thousands of new photo-based 3D building models. And it's incredible.

Essentially, you can take a tour of NYC from your desk with Google Earth now. And while New York is the first city to get such impressive coverage, it's a peek at what we'll see in the near future with all cities. A complete 3D digital atlas of the entire world will exist eventually, allowing you to virtually visit any city you want anytime. How incredible is that?

Google Earth Blog, Via Gizmodo