Where in the World is Santa Claus?

As of 6am EST both the naughty and the nice among us can track the movements of Kris Kringle as he delivers his special brand of holiday cheer around the globe.  At the Santa website hosted by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and powered by Google maps, users wondering when to extinguish their fires and leave out cookies and milk now have multiple viewing options.  As CNET reports:

Santa fans can also track his movements in 3D in Google Earth by downloading a special NORAD Tracks Santa KML. iGoogle users can add a NORAD Tracks Santa gadget to their iGoogle page.

Google will be displaying high-resolution “Santa Cam” video of the gift-laden airborne sleigh. For locations without video, photos from Panoramio will be displayed in Google Maps.

And for the first time, people can track Santa’s journey on mobile phones with Google Maps for Mobile and follow him on Twitter by adding “@noradsanta.”  

For our readers who need a bit more than just some fancy internet technology to get them into the true spirit of the season, perhaps the story behind how NORAD took on the important role as official monitors of Old St. Nick’s travels will do the trick.  Wired explains:

Tracking Kris Kringle became part of NORAD’s mission in 1955, when the organization was called the Continental Air Defense Command and Col. Harry Shoup was the man in charge. Sears-Roebuck had put an ad in the local paper listing Santa’s phone number, but the number was misprinted. Instead of ringing the department store, it rang CONRAD’s ops center. Shoup got the first call, and rather than being a Scrooge, he told the tyke, “Let me check the radar.”

A tradition was born. (You can hear Shoup talk about the experience here.)

As of the writing of this piece, Santa had just flown over the Great Wall of China.  Here’s to hoping we all receive a little of what we want this year.

[via CNET and Wired]