Our friends from The Inq ran across an interesting blog which claims Google has an imbedded flight simulator in Google Earth.
You can access the hidden feature by hitting Ctrl+Alt+A, and of you go. Two aircraft are available, an F-16 and an SR22. The latter one has nothing to do with the SR71. It's a small four seater turboprop, so don't think you'll dash coast to coast in under an hour.
Needless to say, the graphics aren't impressive, and you can't see the plane at all, not even the cockpit. But the prospect of flying a plane anywhere in the world an paying nothing will probably appeal to many people.
You can also use a joystick, but the man behind the blog, Marco Gallotta of Cape Town, didn't have one around so he didn't test it. So thanks to Marco and Google you can fly around world from the comfort of your own home and not end up like Amelia Earhart.
Makes us wonder though, what's next, Google games or Google Airlines ? Knowing Google, probably both, all in due course.
You can check out the Inq report here, and Marco's blog with screenshots here. Fudzilla staff wishes you a pleasant flight.