05 April 2007: Today, Google is launching My Maps, a new feature of Google Maps that enables users to quickly and easily create custom maps for personal use or sharing through search. With this release, creating maps mashups will become as simple as pointing and clicking.
From chronicling trips, to sharing tips and documenting academic endeavors, My Maps empowers users to create content-rich maps that are relevant to their interests, expertise, or personal needs.
With My Maps users can: Mark locations on a map from a library of icons, draw lines and shapes to highlight paths and areas, add text, photos, or YouTube/Google Videos to a map, add HTML for further personalization, and View their maps in Google Earth .
Users can choose to make their My Maps unlisted or public. Unlisted maps are intended for personal use or sharing with friends and family by email. Public My Maps will be accessible through Google Maps search along with maps shared by other web sites in the KML format. My Maps users can store maps they have created or viewed when signed into their Google Account. My Maps is available in 10 countries and can be accessed on the Google Maps homepage at: https://maps.google.com/.
