Google is tracking Santa as he whips around the world delivering presents

Ho Ho Ho! As the world prepares for Christmas, Google has decided to once again track good old St. Nick as he takes flight on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to all good boys and girls.

“While we’ve been tracking Santa since 2004 with Google Earth, this year a team of dedicated Google Maps engineers built a new route algorithm to chart Santa’s journey around the world on Christmas Eve,” says Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Google Earth.

The search giant’s tracker will allow users to follow the jolly man in red as he dashes from city to city on his reindeer sleigh on Google Maps and Google Earth, and get his stats starting at 2:00 a.m. Pacfic Time on Christmas Eve at google.com/santatracker.

“In addition, with some help from developer elves, we’ve built a few other tools to help you track Santa from wherever you may be. Add the new Chrome extension or download the Android app to keep up with Santa from your smartphone or tablet. And to get the latest updates on his trip, follow Google Maps on Google+, Facebook and Twitter,” says McClendon.

Google is really getting into the Christmas spirit and as put some Googlers at work creating an interactive Santa’s Village, which is currently counting down to Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve we’ll be proudly showcasing a preview of Santa’s dashboard — the technology that powers his sleigh during his around-the-world journey. We’ve received this special preview from one of Santa’s many developer elves, who are hard at work in the North Pole helping Santa prepare for his big day.

Santa’s dashboard – featuring the latest and greatest in Google Maps technology and sleigh engineering – will allow you to follow his progress around the world, and also learn a little about some of his stops along the way.