The Web site, called MDG Monitor, will provide updated information on efforts to fight malnutrition, poverty and diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. In addition, site users can use Google Earth's map and satellite images to explore places where programs aimed at meeting the MDGs have been implemented, Michael Jones, chief technologist for Google Earth and Maps, said. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon added that the site will provide information for policymakers and development experts to learn from successes and setbacks in other countries and will increase public awareness about efforts to achieve the goals.
Ban said the new Web site is "crucial" because it will provide information about the MDGs in one place "for all who seek it with a few simple clicks of the mouse." He added that "achieving the MDGs is a matter of political will" and that the "resources, knowledge and tools for achieving the goals do exist."