Google accused of "airbrushing history"

I'm not really sure if this is fair criticism considering the age of some of the other leading map programs out there also used images that are several years old, however, as today's news from AP reports:

The House Committee on Science and Technology's subcommittee on investigations and oversight on Friday asked Google Inc. (GOOG) Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt to explain why his company is using the outdated imagery.

The subcommittee cited an Associated Press report on the images.

"Google's use of old imagery appears to be doing the victims of Hurricane Katrina a great injustice by airbrushing history," subcommittee chairman Brad Miller, D-N.C., wrote in a letter to Schmidt.

Google's defense of the quality issue could very well be accurate and they state they are in the process of updating images so hopefully this issue will be resolved soon.