Google Map of the Week

Vodafone Hometown GP

Vodafone Hometown GP builds a 3D racetrack based on your personally designed track and then lets you race against the clock on your very own creation. 

The game uses Google Maps to let you build a racetrack anywhere in the world. Just zoom in on a location and you can start building your track by laying it out on the road map of your chosen location. 

When you have laid out your track you can decorate it with signs and roadside buildings. Once you have decorated your track you are ready to burn some rubber. 

The game lets you race against the clock on your 3D racetrack. The game involves downloading a plug-in but it is worth it for some pretty impressive 3D graphics and some pretty impressive game-play. Don't believe me? Then check out this YouTube video:



When you tire of racing on your track you can save it and share it with the world via Twitter and Facebook.

Graffiti on Google Maps

Graff Map

Graff Map uses Google Maps to map graffiti locations around the world.

At the moment the map mainly shows graffiti in Melbourne, Australia. Users can submit their own locations to the map so hopefully the map will have wider coverage soon. Graff Map uses Street View where available to show pictures of the submitted graffiti but users can also submit their own photographs.

The developer of Graff Map has plans to add more functionality to the map soon, including, a top 10 list, voting, comments and tags.

Graffiti Maps From the Archives

• StreetArtLocator - user contributed map of street art.
• South Central LA Graffiti Map - graffiti in South Central, LA.
• Legal Walls - map of legal graffiti walls

Car Home for Android Gets Personal

Car Home for Android turns your Android phone into a better driving companion by providing you with quick access to key applications on the go: GPS navigation, voice-activated commands, contacts, and more. Today, we’re releasing a new version of Car Home for Android which makes it easier to customize Car Home to get the information you need faster.

Now, you can also quickly customize the shortcuts to personalize Car Home with one-touch access to apps and information on your phone. Just select one of the icons marked “Add shortcut” to start creating your own shortcuts. You can also drag-and-drop or remove shortcuts by long pressing any of them.

You can launch Car Home by opening the app directly from your phone or docking your phone in a car dock, and now you can automatically switch to Car Home when your phone pairs with any Bluetooth™ device. Simply select “Settings” from the Car Home screen and select which of your paired Bluetooth™ devices you want to automatically trigger Car Home.

Want to customize Car Home even more? You can now set your own wallpaper for Car Home. Just select “Settings” in Car Home and choose a wallpaper that fits your tastes. You can also customize the color of the shortcut icons to really make the Car Home experience your own.

We’ve also made it simpler for Android developers to modify their existing applications to be compatible with Car Mode. Apps which support Car Mode will show up in a “Car applications” category so they can easily be identified by you and added as a shortcut.

The new version of Car Home for Android is available for Android 2.2. You can get the update from Android Market by searching for “Car Home” in Android Market or tap here on your Android device.

Don’t forget, while your Android-powered companion can assist you while you drive, please keep your eyes on the road and drive safely at all times!

Update 10/1/10 10:28 PST: The new Car Home is available for Nexus One and Motorola Droid. Visit our Help Center to learn more or send us your feedback and questions in ourHelp Forum. 

Google Map of Foursquare Check-ins

Real Time Check-ins Map

This Google Map displays in real-time the locations of Foursquare check-ins shared via Twitter.

The map displays the locations of the latest check-ins made to Foursquare. If nothing else the map is interesting in that it gives a rough guide of Foursquare's penetration around the world. At the moment Foursquare appears most popular in North America, Europe, South East Asia and Japan. However Foursquare seems to have made little penetration in South Africa.

Another potential use of the map could be to zoom in on your current location and check-out who is logging in on Foursquare around you.

Find a Cheap Flight with Google Maps

Trabber

Trabber is web service that searches online travel agencies, lowcost carriers, traditional airlines and hotel booking websites to find you the best priced flights and hotels.

Trabber has just added a new feature that uses Google Maps to display airfares. When you search Trabber without specifying a destination you can now view the offers on Google Maps. For example, you can search Trabber for all fares under $100 from New York and view all the possible destinations on a map.

The map markers on the map display the price of the flight. The markers are also color coded to indicate the quality of the offer. The darker the color the higher the discount compared with the mean value.

The map automatically updates the results shown so that when you scroll or zoom to different locations, new offers will appear dynamically around the selected destination.

New hyperlocal ad feature helps you find nearby businesses

Imagine driving to work and your Check Engine light comes on. After pulling over and calling a tow truck, you realize you’ll need another car to get to work while yours is getting repaired. You pull out your phone and search for “car rental,” hoping that you can find one nearby. From a Google search ad result you discover there’s an Enterprise Rent-A-Car location just half-a-mile away! You click on the phone number listed in the ad and are instantly connected with the car rental service. Soon, an Enterprise representative is on his way to pick you up.


Visit the Google Mobile Ads blog to read more about how a new hyperlocal ad feature provides distance information to help you know a business is nearby and helps businesses better connect with mobile users on the go.

Explore seven continents with Street View on your phone

Head over to the Official Google Blog to read more about Street View on seven continents.
Two years ago, we added Street View to Google Maps for mobile so you could explore the world at street level right from your phone. Today, we’re happy to announce that you can see Street View imagery on all seven continents, with the addition of Brazil, Ireland and Antarctica – specifically, an area called Half Moon Island. Now, you can really explore the world from the palm of your hand.

We encourage you to go ahead and check out the beaches of Brazil, visit the moors of Ireland or see penguins in Antarctica for yourself.

Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Ring of Kerry, Ireland

To use Street View on Google Maps for your supported phone, select a place on the map and then choose the Street View option if available. With an Android-powered phone, try hopping across each continent with the new Street View smart navigation.

Driving through the Emerald Isle

Today's release of Street View in the Republic of Ireland contains some great imagery. I've started playing with Directions Map to create some virtual tours.

Here is a little scenic tour from Narran to Drumboghill in the north east of Ireland. Press 'play' to start the tour.

Street View for Ireland & Brazil Launched

Google today added Street View imagery to the Republic of Ireland, Brazil and a tiny bit of Antartica. The coverage in Ireland seems to be pretty comprehensive. In Brazil the imagery seems to be concentrated in Rio de Janerio, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte.

Here are some of the sights you can view in the new imagery:


The GPO, Dublin


Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin


St Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork


Kylemore Abbey


Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói


São Paulo Cathedral


Antarctic


Penguins!

These websites have collections of interesting sights found on Street View. You can bet that they will all be busy adding Irish and Brazilian finds to their collections today:

Street View Funny
Google Sightseeing
Google Earth Hacks

One Developer has also been very quick to produce three websites dedicated to collecting interesting Street Views from Brazil:

http://www.sampaview.com (São Paulo)
http://www.riostreetview.com (Rio de Janeiro)
http://www.bhnomapa.com (the rest of Brazil)

The New Foursquare Challenger

Geomium

Launched only yesterday Geomium has quickly gathered a lot of favourable press. Geomium is a new location based service for the iPhone that uses data from Yelp, Qype and Eventful to show you where your friends are located and events that are in your current vicinity.

Using Geomium you can view location information and reviews displayed on a Google Map and also see where your friends are right now. Geomium shows you where people are, you can view the location of your friends and you can also view the locations of other Geomium users.

Geomium also shows you the places that are near by. Using the application you can find the best bars, restaurants, and cafes around your current location. You can mark your favourite places and you can also check-in to places, and see who else has checked in.

Geomium lists all kinds of events, including theatre shows, festivals, concerts, and parties. You can browse through all of the events, or filter by type and date. You can use Geomium to let your friends know you'll be attending an event, and see who else will be going.

The application also offers localised deals, including discounts at bars and restaurants. Currently Geomium is only available for the iPhone but support for other mobile platforms is in the pipeline.