Google Earth output. This form will import your GPS data file (e.g., GPX), or plain-text data (tab-delimited or CSV), and create a KML file that you can view in the Google Earth application or import into Google's "My Maps"/"My Places" system.
(You might also be interested in the Google Maps input form, which can create an interactive map that can be viewed in almost any Web browser; you can even use KML/KMZ files as input. For SVG or JPEG maps, use the "classic" map form. To resize and/or colorize Google Earth markers based on a particular field, use the data form.) Interactive Earth: Shapefile to KML using Open Source GIS. [Note: The work described below has resulted in an application named Shape2Earth, which is now available for download.]
One of the things that I have been working on lately (or .. whenever I get the chance) is a Shapefile to KML writer for viewing GIS data in Google Earth that uses open source GIS components. I gained a lot of experience with KML while prototyping an ESRI ArcMap based toolset that used ArcObjects, and thought that an open source equivalent would be worth pursuing. There were three main reasons that I decided to work on this project. 1) It sounded like a lot of fun, 2) I have been increasingly interested in open source GIS, and 3) the emergence of Google Earth (as well as Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, and Microsoft Live Local) has led to an enormous interest in geospatial visualization outside of the traditional GIS community.
To develop my Shapefile to KML tool, I decided to use MapWindow GIS. Getting altitude data.