Google Map Maker aids disaster rescue efforts

The Google Map Maker has discovered a humanitarian purpose. Its giving people updated information -- through maps -- on disaster-hit areas across the globe that need urgent relief assistance.
The Google Map Maker is a service launched by Google in June 2008, primarily as an upgrade to the service initially offered by Google Maps. The web tool was seen as a solution to mapping parts of the world where there is no available mapping data or commercial maps. Google Map maker relies on user contributions from local communities to mark out certain territories.
In an interview with ZDNet.com during the Google Geo Community Summit in Singapore last Thursday, Andrew McGlinchey, Google Southeast Asia’s head of product management, said that the Map Maker is currently available in over 100 countries, mostly developing nations where quality maps are difficult to source.
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