Apple has bought Poly9 (http://www.poly9.com), a Quebec company, for its web mapping technology, according to a "LeSoleil" report (http://macosg.me/2/iu). The article gives no purchase price or acquisition date, but says that most Poly9 employees have moved to Apple's California headquarters.

Poly9 -- whose web site is down -- is best known for developing web-based mapping programs and application programming interfaces for a variety of clients. Among its products is Poly9 Globe, a "cross-browser, cross-platform 3D globe which does not require any download." The interactive software allows users to spin a three-dimensional rendering of the Earth, while providing real-time statistics on the user's virtual location, including altitude.

Last year Apple acquired Placebase, another online mapping company. Placebase's Pushpin provides a JavaScript API for embedding scrollable maps into your web site. Combined, the technology from Placebase and Poly9 would give Apple the foundation for a potent mapping platform, so it sounds as if Apple may be planning a competitor to Google Earth.