Google Maps have always been the leader in mapping innovation. We were the first to introduce draggable maps and the first to include satellite imagery. Through our acquisition of high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery, street-level imagery, 3D buildings, and terrain, we are building the digital atlas for the 21st century. We are continually adding to this database, increasing the coverage, quality, and resolution of our maps and imagery at a rate that is unprecedented in the industry. With our Street View imagery, we allow our users to get down to streel level and see what a place looks like as if they were walking on the street. Explore high resolution satellite imagery of Dubai’s Palm Islands, or Street View imagery of New York Times Square.

We have also taken driving directions to a whole new level by allowing users to drag a route in real-time through any intermediate waypoint. Create customizable, draggable, multipoint driving directions – San Francisco to LA to San Diego, via Highway 1. You can drag & drop the route to customize, or right-click to add more destinations.

While Google Maps is the #1 mapping destination site globally, we also make most of the features and data accessible from maps.google.com available to our Maps API developers. Tens of thousands of web developers have taken advantage of this to create unique mapping websites. We also allow developer to bring their website to maps.google.com by creating a Mapplet, which is a javascript-based map plug-in which can be searched and viewed within Google Maps. You can see how Lonely Planet uses our Maps API to share information between travelers ; or watch the precision of Swiss trains in real time.

Happy Mapping!

Maps Guide Jade

Dear friends,

I hope this year is off to a lovely start for all of you. It's now time to wrap up what we have accomplished in the past six months and look forward to having a more exciting new year!

* 2X Street View coverage (12/9/08)
* Maps browse, Local Business Center, and Local Trends for China (11/27/08)
* New UI for Street View (11/25/08)
* AIR support for Maps API for Flash(11/23/08)
* Street View in Spain, Italy, and France (11/4/08)
* Reverse geocoding for Maps API (10/26/08)
* Transit for New York (9/23/08)
* Reverse business lookup (9/9/08)
* Map Maker tool for creation of map data (8/29/08)
* Street View launched in Japan and Australia (8/6/08)
* Google Maps UI redesign (8/5/08)
* Walking directions (7/22/08)

Happy Mapping!

Maps Guide Jade