
GOOGLE APPS HACKS
11
that
Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) is a virtual world map, as shown in Figure 11-1. You can travel
to almost any spot on earth, zoom in, and see what it’s like there (without all the extra expenses like
ight tickets). Google combines such things as location names, satellite or terrain info, panorama
photos from street level with data such as user reviews for restaurants, directions, and—for the
United States—real-time trafc information. The search box on top is exible enough so that you can
search for both specic cities or countries as well as names of businesses, restaurants, and more.
Special layers—so-called KML (Keyhole Markup Language) les—can be displayed on top of Google
Maps to add third-party information.
With a feature called My Maps, you can add your own markers, directions, or areas to Google Maps,
and edit your own text for the marker’s info box. Google ...