On Google's popular Google Earth application, the name 'Arabian Gulf' has shown up to represent the Persian Gulf. In this map the upper part of Persian Gulf waters is named Persian Gulf and the waters close to Persian Gulf neighboring states are given the name 'Arabian Gulf.'

Historically, the usage of this term for the Persian Gulf has been led by Arab figures to rally the Arab masses against the non-Arab peoples in the Middle East. Last week, the National Iranian American Council's (NIAC) Board sent a letter to Google's CEO, Dr. Eric E. Schmidt, pointing out the political nature of including this alternative term for the Persian Gulf on their applications.

The Persian Gulf has always been named the Persian Gulf historically dating back to European and Arabic maps from ancient geographers. Only the name Persian Gulf is accepted by the United Nations and other organizations.

In 2004, there was another dispute with National Geographic having the term 'Arabian Gulf' in their atlas. This was corrected after lobbying from NIAC and other organizations.

Source: NIAC, ISNA