EXTON, PA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/30/12 -- Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) have teamed up to help you keep an eye on Santa this holiday season. Beginning December 24 at 2 a.m. EST, visitors to the popular NORAD Tracks Santa® site, www.noradsanta.org, can use 2D and 3D tracking maps created by AGI -- known as Santa Trackers -- to watch Santa as he makes his annual journey around the world.

The 3D Santa Tracker provides an interactive experience that lets you pan and zoom around Santa's journey. Clicking on video icons will play videos of locations where Santa was spotted by the trackers, and clicking on other icons tells you more about the location selected. To ensure that your computer supports 3D, see http://cesium.agi.com/tracksanta.html for system requirements. If your computer doesn't meet the requirements, a 2D tracker with the same information-gathering features will let you watch Santa. The 3D tracker uses Cesium, http://cesium.agi.com/, an open-source virtual globe founded by AGI; the 2D tracker was built with Bing® Maps.

As always, Santa's journey begins at the North Pole, after which he heads west from the International Date Line, making stops only when children are in bed. Special "Santa Cams" that NORAD stations around the globe stream video of Old St. Nick as he passes famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Great Wall of China.

This year, the site will be hosted by Microsoft on Windows Azure™, and, as in years' past, tracking opportunities will be offered on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google+. Santa followers just need to type "noradsanta" into each search engine to get started.

If you like to get information firsthand, you can talk to a live operator to inquire about Santa's whereabouts beginning December 24 at 6 a.m. EST by dialing 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.

Between now and December 24, visit www.noradsanta.org where NORAD provides countdown activities for kids of all ages. They are also offering free apps from the Apple Store, Google Play and Windows Market to extend the fun.

Learn more about the history of the program and AGI's involvement in it at www.agi.com/santa and blogs.agi.com.

About AGI

Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) delivers software applications and development tools for timely and cost-effective development and deployment of space, defense and intelligence missions. AGI products are used for modeling, engineering and operations in the areas of space, cyberspace, aircraft, missile defense, C4ISR and electronic systems. For more information, visit www.agi.com.

NOTE TO MEDIA: If you are interested in covering the 2012 NORAD Tracks Santa program or interviewing NORAD, send requests to nnc.pa.nts.omb@northcom.mil or call 719.554.6889.

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