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Article: Location, location, location: online maps for the masses.(digital map services like Google Earth, Microsoft Maps & Directions, Yahoo! Maps)(Cover Story)
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- January 1, 2006
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You can't find Hogwarts ... yet. Or Middle Earth, for that matter. But Google Maps is geographic coordinates with directory information to forge new, improved views of the Earth and, of all places, the moon. Maps called "mashups" display geographical territories overlaid with icons that represent points of interest with a difference. We're not talking staid historical monuments here. Now you can see the locations of apartments for rent, crime scenes, bloggers' lairs, cheap gas, and much more in both traditional and satellite map views.
In July 2005, Google made available a free programming interface (an AP1 or application programming interface) for its maps ...