File Extension .Kml

KML stands for “Keyhole Mark-up Language” and files with this file extension are primarily used to store geographical information in a rather standard XML format. KML files are used by Google Earth because it store location information that is very useful for the Google Earth application.

KML or the Keyhole Mark-up Language was created by a software company Keyhole Inc for the purpose of using in conjunction with the application Keyhole Earth Viewer which later became Google Earth when Google Inc acquired Keyhole Inc in the early 2000s. The purpose of the KML file format was to specifically store geographical data and annotations that could be used and overlaid on maps.

KML files then contain longitude and latitude data, place markers, polygonal shapes, images, text and other important information that would illustrate or label a specific place or area on a map used in Google Earth. If the application is used for 3D earth browsing, other information like textured 3D objects, camera angle and many more could be found in a KML file. KML files can store customized layers of data that can be overlaid on pre-existing maps for illustration and visual aid purposes.

Though KML was originally created for use by Keyhole Earth Viewer then Google Earth, it has been accepted by the Open Geospatial Consortium as the open standard file format for use in geographical browsers and so various websites and applications use the file format for their files as well. These programs are as follows:

Mac OS Google Earth

Blender

Merkaartor

Keyhole PRO

Windows Google Earth

Merkaartor

Global Mapper

Blender

Keyhole PRO

ESRI ArcGIS Desktop

Linux Google Earth

Blender

Merkaartor

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