The official Google Earth plugin is one free download that makes all sorts of cool stuff possible in your browser. There's a full screen version of the program (complete with underwater views and 3D buildings) which can be searched by entering queries at the end of the URL. There's a framed version with support for layers, historical imagery, day/night cycles, and the Google Sky starmap. Less useful but more fun are Google's collection of "experiments" demonstrating the possibilities of the Earth API, including a "Geo Whiz" geography quiz, an antipode locater, a 3D first-person view of San Francisco, a virtual route-follower, and MONSTER MILKTRUCK!, a crazy fun driving simulator that lets you careen a virtual milk truck through the Googleplex campus, ricochet off the Himalayas, or explore any other place you care to name. Lots more can be found in the Google Earth Gallery -- highlights include a look at mountaintop removal mining, a real-time flight tracker, a guide to trails and outdoor recreation, a 360 panorama catalog, geotagged Panoramio photos, and the comprehensive crowdsourced Google Earth Community Layer. And while it's too large to view online, don't miss loading the Metafilter user location map into a desktop version of Google Earth! [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi on Jun 9, 2011 - 15 comments

Free Poverty. Kinda like freerice.com but they're giving water to places that need it. [more inside]
posted by Nauip on Oct 17, 2008 - 32 comments

Place Spotting ― Try to solve this Google map quiz. In the upper part of the page you see a satellite picture. Drag and zoom the map in the lower part of the page until it shows the same location as the upper map. Here's how.
posted by netbros on Aug 16, 2008 - 32 comments

Cute quiz: Name the Simpsons characters. Also: US states, countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America, periodic table of elements. More.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jun 25, 2008 - 75 comments

Know your world? [via and from]
posted by Orange Pamplemousse on Nov 20, 2007 - 37 comments

Inspired by Ironic Sans's 50 States Game comes the more worldly (and difficult) 245 Countries in 10 minutes. Also pairs well with the previously posted GeoSense.

(Caveats/Minor Spoilers: Game has some questionable choices, like making you type in the long form of the country's name, i.e. "People's Republic of", rather than the common usage name. Some countries have "The" in front of them. Also, your spelling must be perfect, which can trip you up for those obscure island nations, and countries you know but don't know the exact spelling of. Good Luck!)
posted by wander on Mar 4, 2007 - 64 comments

Don't click this link yet. Think about all 50 United States, and then, when you're ready, click the link. It goes to an ajaxified quiz page, with a timer set to 10 minutes which starts counting down on page load, and a form entry field where you start typing the names of the states. When you get one right it automatically moves to a spontaneously generating list at to the bottom of the page. If the ten minutes elapse & you fail to name all fifty, the ones that you missed are revealed. Okay, now go.
posted by jonson on Mar 2, 2007 - 235 comments

Test your knowledge of world flags. 15 per round, 10 minutes per round. Some clues available, annoyingly addictive.
posted by moonbird on Jan 2, 2006 - 37 comments

One of those geography quizzes that we all know and love. This one involves throwing darts at a map of Europe.
posted by jacquilynne on Jan 20, 2005 - 42 comments

Can You Pass the Third Grade? (Flash)
posted by konolia on Sep 28, 2004 - 30 comments

Geography Olympics "Thanks to its global accessibility, the Internet is the perfect medium to hold an international competition such as The Geography Olympics. To join the challenge in support of your country, you simply need to select which country you will be representing and take the quiz. The quiz consists of trying to locate 10 randomly selected countries on a map of the world. It is different every time."
posted by Lizc on Sep 1, 2004 - 27 comments

How well do you know your Middle Eastern and North African geography? In my case, the answer would probably be 'decent, but not great'.
posted by GriffX on Jul 30, 2003 - 39 comments

Geography Humiliation Central: Too many damned What a wonderful diversity of countries! A very annoying stringent set of tests, designed to expose showcase our ignorance knowledge of the political geography of the world we live in. Whether it's Africa, Asia or even Europe, South America or the United States, I seem to know only the really big ones them all. In fact, I've never been so ashamed proud in my life.
posted by Carlos Quevedo on Apr 9, 2003 - 51 comments