New Frontiers for Google Maps

Have you tried the latest new advances with Google Maps? In the U.S., Canada, and U.K. and Japan, Google Local and Maps have now been integrated into a service known as Google Local. If you have a saved location in Google Local, you will see a map of that place when you begin a search, and will be able to use the satellite view and the hybrid map/satellite photo of the location when viewing local search results. Making online geographical information even more powerful is another brand new service called Placeopedia. Placeopedia will provide a link from a Google map of a place directly to its entry in Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia edited by volunteers. While using this innovative combination of text and map information, there are two limitations to keep in mind--not all place name entries in Wikipedia have been included at this early stage; and zooming in to the street level of a place, or anything beyond a wide geographical area, depends on whether the Google map provides such detail. More information about Placeopedia can be found in an article by Chris Sherman, "Mapping Places in Wikipedia" (Search Engine Watch, October 13, 2005).

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat