Google has started to combine its Earth and Maps products with the announcement that Earth view is available to all Google Maps users.
To see 3D imagery in Google Maps, you’ll need the Google Earth plugin which anyone can now use; it’s been available to developers since 2008. There’s also a new “Earth” tab on Google Maps, right next to the Satellite and Map tabs. Here’s a how-to video that Google has published showing how it all works.
On a semi-related note, Google has also launched a Hubble Telescope tour layer for Google Earth, in honor of the telescope’s 20th anniversary.