News about google mapmaker, maps

London, Oct 4 (ANI): Within weeks of Google’s Map Maker launch, tens of thousands of Indians have marked details of their cities, towns and villages, many of them previously blank spaces in even the most up-to-date atlases.
Map Maker, created by an Indian, Lalitesh Katragadda, is a tool that would allow users annotate and amend satellite images to produce useful maps.
Now, the technology is being extended to other “information-deficient” regions, such as Africa, and is viewed as the future of map-making. The tool may in fact turn out to be worth billions for Google in advertising revenues.
“We’ve seen a fantastic emotional interplay emerge. People want to map their favourite restaurants, their old school classrooms. This is going to fill in a big piece of the geo-web puzzle,” Times Online quoted Katragadda, as saying.
Google has claimed that it is specifically focussing on “hyper-growth countries” such as India, where maps are changing daily.
Already, there exist a number of websites that let users to amend online maps.
Some bloggers have accused Google of apeing non-profit projects such as OpenStreetMap. org, which places fewer restrictions on how collected information can be used.
However, Google claims that its enormous online reach gives it an edge over others of hitting critical mass.
Katragadda said that its map service has already achieved what his team calls “the genesis effect”, the point at which the wealth of data captured attracts a rush of users to the map site, who in turn plug in more information. (NAI)

Source: http://www.newspostonline.com/sci-tech/Google's%20Map%20Maker%20set%20to%20showcase%20India%20in%20microscopic%20detail-200810057693

This is what Google blog says -

In countries like India, great maps and comprehensive local data are hard to come by. And traditional mapping approaches are stretched to the limit in such environments, where infrastructure and local businesses are evolving at a furious pace.

This need inspired us in Google India to design and build Google Map Maker, which enables users everywhere over to create rich, deep maps and fresh local data. People can mark their favorite spots in their cities and hometowns, add features such as roads, parks, and buildings, tag small businesses to help users find them, and collaborate to map neighborhoods of interest. This product is motivated by the spirit of information democracy, where people can create information that are moderated and consumed by their peers. By Lalitesh Katragadda, Software Engineer and creator, Google Map Maker in Offcial Google Blog.

Source : Official Google Blog http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/empowering-users-to-map-their-worlds.html

Visit Google Mapmaker : http://www.google.com/mapmaker

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