On Tuesday, software giant Google released version 7.0.2.8415 of its popular Google Earth program. The new version, a 40.8 megabyte download, adds the following fixes and changes:

What’s New:
- We have included substantial performance improvements to this build. You should see scenes load more rapidly than in our previous public Beta release.

- We have included minor tweaks to the Tour Guide UI.

Issues fixed in this release:
- We fixed the bug that prevented users from recording movies from saved tours.

- Wikipedia text displays in tours.

- Gray buildings and extruded polygons have improved lighting effects.

- Imagery holes no longer appear after sun has been turned on in DirectX on certain hardware configurations.

- Icons align correctly upon installation of .dmg.

Known issues in Google Earth 7:
- When run in DirectX mode on certain Radeon graphics cards on Windows, SketchUp models and extruded polygons will appear gray. To work around this issue, run Earth in OpenGL mode.

- When run in OpenGL mode on certain Intel graphics cards, SketchUp models and extruded polygons will appear gray. To work around this issue, run Earth in DirectX mode.

- Clamped Polygons and Image Overlays display multiple instances in 3D cities on certain hardware configurations.

- KML overlays don’t render correctly in 3D cities in DX on certain hardware configurations.

- Water surfaces around coastlines will flicker then resolve upon zoom.

- Placemark and linestring quality diminishes in the Plugin with browser refresh. To workaround, zoom closely into the KML you want to view.

- Terrain and Water Surface oddities exist at the antimeridian.

Google Earth 7.0.2.8415 requires an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.6 or later to install and run.

If you’ve tried the new version and have any feedback to offer, let us know in the comments.