GOOGLE Inc. has updated and made available thousands of online maps of the Philippines, including street directions all over, the leading Internet research company said.
The maps were made available at Google Maps after considering the edits made by Filipinos on Google Map Maker, an application that allows users to edit Google Maps data, the company said in a statement.
Google Map Maker was launched in the Philippines in October 2008 to allow locals to contribute to the building and updating of online map data for the Philippines. “Now millions of Google Maps users around the world can see more accurate and updated online maps of the Philippines including new roads, points of interests, and regions all over the country,” Google said.
The Internet giant says that since the launch of Google Map Maker in the Philippines, hundreds of users have contributed tens of thousands of edits, reflecting the Filipinos’ enthusiasm for sharing their knowledge of their neighbourhoods with the rest of the Internet community. Through a moderation and verification process, most of these edits, which include street-level data, landmark tags and business establishments, can now be seen on Google Maps,” Google said.
It says the Philippines was one of the most challenging places to map because of the diverse topography of its more than 7,000 islands and the dearth of accurate map data available online.
