Google enhances online maps by adding ‘My Maps’ feature

Complimenting its popular mapping technology, Web search giant Google Inc. on Thursday launched ‘My Maps’, a new Google Map service that lets users to create customized maps with specific locations and picture.

The new mapping tool that can be found in a tab on the left side of the map interface allows users create their own maps to destinations, throwing in their own text, photos and videos for others to see. It even enables non-technical users easily annotate and share maps.

My Maps is aimed at providing average users with the capabilities to create map mashups for existing online maps services, including Google Maps and Google Earth, the Mountain View, California based online advertising and internet search giant said.

The new service basically solicits millions of Google users to share the knowledge that they have about their immediate surroundings or their places of interest, enabling the search giant improve its mapping index.

"Who better to create maps than local experts?" Jessica Lee, product manager for Google Maps, said in an interview. "MyMaps makes map-making universally accessible to anyone."

With the newly launched features creators can pinpoint specific landmarks and attach associated pictures to them. For example, a family could chart their cross-country trip on Google Maps and attach an image to each location-all using a simple drag and drop interface.

They have the choice to make their maps public or private. In case of public maps, Google will index the information and make the results available in its Local Search tool, while private or “unlisted” maps will only be available to people chosen by the user to share them with.

Every user-created map will be saved on Google servers and each map will have a unique address on the Maps.Google.com domain, Lee said.

In addition, maps can be customized by specifying the scale of the map, the order the landmarks appear in the sidebar, and even the shapes of the landmark icons on the map. Each user created map automatically gets a public URL that one can share with his or her friends and family. Users can also publish their map for inclusion in Google Maps search results. Maps created by users can be toggled between map and satellite views.

Google Maps is currently the third-most popular map site after AOL's Mapquest and Yahoo Maps, which already offer similar function and until now it was the main feature that kept them superior to Google Maps.

According to the most recent data available from comScore Media Metrix, Google's maps drew 22.2 million U.S. visitors during February, while AOL's Mapquest attracted 45.1 million and Yahoo Maps bagged 29.1 million visitors.