Now this is a Google Earth 3D tour worth watching – even if you’re not a soccer, footie or futbol fan. As the world awaits Friday's kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, with baited breath, this video tour showcases technology at its best – and portends the drama about to unfold.

The virtual fly-by is eerily evocative of the Roman Coliseum, a.k.a., the Flavian Amphitheatre, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. The Coliseum seated 50,000 spectators who routinely gathered to watch gladiatorial contest and public spectacles – including executions, re-enactments of famous battles, animal hunts, and mock sea battles. (Some of those themes are echoed in World Cup brand marketers' ads, official and unofficial.)

For a more leisurely, stadium-by-stadium look, click here. At least it won't cause headaches, like Sony's 3D World Cup promotion.

Another day, another announcement about how Sony will "reinvent" itself as a lifestyle brand to build brand loyalty. Today? Online services. 

Of Sony's plans to revitalize its brand by offering downloadable games, movies and other entertainment to Bravia TVs, Cyber-shot cameras and e-Readers, Executive VP Kazuo Hirai said, "That's the kind of combination that I think is not seen anywhere else. That I think is where our core competence lies, and that's a differentiator for Sony."

Immediately on hearing this statement, everyone giggled and was heard to say, "So adorable." Continue reading...