Faces of Google Earth

The Chteau de Versailles, although some 20 km from the capital of France, was once the centre of political power, making it a revered institution and highly-visited sight. The gardens of Versailles cover 800 hectares of land and have been carefully manicured for centuries in the traditional French style. Only since the advent of Google Earth have we been able to view the lawns so meticulously, revealing this smiley face hidden in the grounds.

The definite profile of a smiling, bearded man can be made out from the hedgerows around these fields. Actually, it could be Abe Lincoln without his hat. Anyone else agree?

A native American Indian, replete with feathered headdress, is hiding in the hills of Alberta, Canada, and by the looks of it he’s found a way to pass the time – dangling from his ear looks something suspiciously like an iPod ear piece. Wonder what he’s listening to.

The ghostly image of a lady appears in a field in Ohio. Zooming in closer to the image reveals the eyes may be trees that the farmer has cut around and the mouth is just a naturally darker patch of grass. Ah, the wonders of nature.

And in total contrast to the aforementioned image, the hand of man etches a number of similar images in a clearing in Denmark. The original mask design was created by none other than Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Titled ‘The Sun as a Face’, this face-shaped forest was planted in Odense in 2005 as part of the bicentennial celebrations of Hans Christian Andersen’s birth.

Odense town planners seem to have liked Ugly Duckling author’s design so much they decorated half the town in the design. This smaller version is a nature playground to the north of the larger forest face.

We’ve found Jesus! He was hiding in the Peruvian sand dunes the whole time.

This uncanny image of a sniffing, capped chef is found on the corner of the island of Sicily, home to some of the world’s finest cooking.

Not the most obvious of Google’s findings but atop these rocks on a tiny island off the West Coast of Ireland, it looks as if there’s a face with a pronounced Romanesque nose looking out to sea. It never ceases to amaze what the mind’s eye can see with very little persuasion.

Often referred to as one of the most influential women in the world, chat show host Oprah Winfrey certainly knows how to draw an audience. No wonder she’s also the richest women on TV. *Must get snipping.

A cheeky little imp in a field in Germany looks as if it was created by crop circle artists who got bored trying to do the real thing. Just to the side of the face are a number of tiny failed crop circles.

Not the clearest of images, as the original design is becoming overgrown, but the outline of a burst pumpkin is still visible. It looks as if it would have required a serious amount of planning and effort to pull it off.

Scary but true. As if the fast food giants don’t bombard us with enough advertising, they’ve decided to conquer clients from via Google, too. In 2006, KFC took The Colonel to the Nevada desert in the hope of making the first visible logo from space.

It was revealed, not long after the stunt, to be a PR exercise in viral marketing. Needless to say, it worked.

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