Swim safely in Europe with the Water Watch map

Finding a clean and safe swimming spot in Europe this summer is at your fingertips with the Eye on Earth World Watch map, a user-friendly resource resulting from a partnership between Microsoft and the European Environment Agency (EEA). Beaches, rivers and lakes are marked by icons which are color coded (greens are safe, reds warn against swimming areas where the water is unhealthy and swimming is prohibited) and many are marked by a thumbs up or thumbs down, indicating other map-users rated a particular area as good, bad or average.

The map combines EEA water quality ratings with user ratings on over 22,000 swimming spots in Europe, allowing you so see an assessment of the water's safety and quality along with photos and web cams in different locations. The map's easy-to-use design allows for it to be used quickly by swimmers or surfers before heading to the water.

Eye on Earth will gradually grow to include information on many other environmental topics and turn into a global observatory for environmental change, according to the EEA.

"Eye on Earth is a great example of how technology has the power to help governments, business and individuals understand what is happening to our environment," said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist at Microsoft.

For more information on the Eye on Earth Water Watch initiative and to view the map visit eoe.eea.europa.eu/en.