The American unit of Germany's Volkswagen said on Friday that it is working on a prototype vehicle that features Google's satellite-mapping software to give drivers a bird's-eye view of the road ahead.

The two companies are working with graphics chipmaker Nvidia to build an in-car navigation system and a three-dimensional display so passengers can recognize where they are in relation to the surrounding topography.

Volkswagen of America, working through its Electronics Research Laboratory in Palo Alto, Calif., is working on other advancements, including automatic personalized information updates for the navigation systems.

The car manufacturer showed off the prototype car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

A spokesman for the automaker said there were no definite plans to use the technology inside cars. But the collaboration between the automaker and Google shows the progress the Web search leader is making in expanding beyond the computer realm.

Google introduced Google Earth last June as a free satellite imagery-based mapping product based on technology from Keyhole, a company Google bought in October 2004.

[CLB: A hackable system isn't being used for actually controlling the car, but thta is only a step away. Still, hacking a driver's driving instructions could lead to problems. How do we ensure the data sent from a pblically accessible system is reliable?]