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Google launches Mapplets

Tony Aldridge

Tony Aldridge

  • Updated:

Google MappletsStop the world – word is out that Google today adds the Mapplets widget to Google Maps, essentially the micro-data of the planet.

Although still in their preview stage when I last checked, Mapplets gives world-watchers the chance to see what movies are playing in their area, check gas (or petrol) prices at different garages, measure any distance across the world, search real estate and hover over crop circles, like an alien, I guess. There are about 30 different Mapplets yoGoogle Crop Circleu can add at the moment through Google’s content directory. Here’s my personal favourite.

Google describes Mapplets as mini-webpages that are served inside an IFrame within the Google Maps site. You can put anything inside this mini-webpage that you can put into a normal webpage, including HTML, Javascript, and Flash. Google provides a Javascript API that gives the Mapplet access to services such as manipulating the map, fetching remote content, and storing user preferences. Users can publish new content with a return URL. So, once again it looks like Google have created something we can’t live without. Still can’t find a fly fishing Mapplet, though.

Tony Aldridge

Tony Aldridge

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