It’s an easy enough method for Google to avoid culpability whenever travelers end up lost due to miscues provided by Maps. However, travelers in Australia have reported that, when driving along the east coast between Sydney and Melbourne, Google Maps is diverting drivers from the Pacific Highway to take an alternative route that leads them through a side-route of backroads.

…For seemingly no reason.

Despite no construction problems or other accessibility issues, Google just doesn’t want you to drive along (what I imagine can only be) a scenic trek along the Pacific coastline. You can manually drag the route over to include Pacific Highway but Google Maps doesn’t really like that; it still tries to divert travelers west on certain parts to avoid Pacific Highway, sometimes even for an arbitrary 30-40 miles before redirecting drivers to resume traveling on Pacific Highway. The erroneous directions have led travelers to believe that large swaths of Pacific Highway are closed for travel (why else would someone have to take through less traveled roads, right?).

The problem was reported to The Sydney Morning Herald who contacted Google Australia about the confusing directions.

A Google Australia spokesman yesterday admitted the Pacific Highway error but could not say how long the glitch had been affecting driving directions. This morning, the bug had still not been fixed.

“Thanks for pointing it out, I will let the team know so they can be aware of the issues, and I’ve flagged it to be corrected,” the Google Australia spokesman said.

“We do have a ‘Report a Problem’ tool that enables users to directly communicate with us about any updates they think need to be made to our maps, and we try to make these changes as quickly as possible.”

That last sentence is a bit of non-advice as The Herald says several travelers have already reported the problem to Google. As of this morning, as you can see from the screen grab above that I took about 20 minutes ago, the problem still appears to be unresolved.

Over at Google’s LatLong blog, the helicopter view/3D route is essentially the aerial view of the route users selected when querying Google Maps for directions. It’s a fantastic option for travelers who prefer the scenic route over highway driving. With the 3D view, users will know just how scenic their selected path of travel really is. As you can see in the lead image, the area being detailed is Highway 1 in California, and the view of the route promises a visually rich travel experience. In fact, all this service is lacking is the ability to see these routes in real-time. Such a feature would allow users to do a little traffic scouting, allowing them to pick the path of least resistance.

As it stands, the aerial view of the trip is still a nice feature, especially for those who want to see the country from a non-highway point of view. Over at the blog post, LatLong details how to use the new feature:

To preview your own route, it is as simple as clicking on a button. Start by entering your starting point, destination, and mode of transport like any directions; in this case, driving directions from ‘Carmel CA to Big Sur CA.’ Then, just click on the “3D” play button. The map will switch to Earth view and automatically start flying you along your recommended route. You can pause the flight at any time by clicking anywhere in the 3D view or on the pause button in the lower left. While the flight is paused, you can explore the surrounding area in 3D by clicking and dragging the map.

Unfortunately, the service doesn’t appear to active in every area. The post provides a link for driving directions to Big Sur in order to duplicate the post’s example. However, when the link is clicked, the “3D” button is not available, at least for this user. A screenshot of the results that were returned for me:

OnStar eNav will be available on Google Maps at the end of June. Users can access the destinations at any time and get OnStar directions to the destination from wherever they are.

"eNav is a perfect solution for subscribers who like the flexibility of being able to use Google Maps to plan their trips in advance, but without the hassle of bringing printed maps into the vehicle," said Nick Pudar, OnStar vice president of new business development.

"The eNav feature of our Turn-by-Turn service allows drivers to keep their eyes, hands and minds where they need to be – on the road."

The Google Maps option will be available on all current Turn-by-Turn capable GM vehicles starting with the 2006 model year and will also integrate with OnStar Destination Download to send destinations to the vehicle’s screen-based navigation system.

Last month OnStar and Google introduced mobile mapping and location functions for the Chevrolet Volt electric car that uses the Google Android Platform.

Camera icons next to normal Google Maps directions signal when Street View pics are available.  From there, all you need to do is click on one of the icons and follow the big white arrows (or the "Next Step" buttons) that’ll guide you through the route.

 Google’s Directions With A Street View

On the Google LatLong Blog, Andy Szybalski writes, "You can follow the arrows to explore along your route, previewing things like landmarks, speed limits, and road conditions."

Think about researching possible places to eat, too.  Or – and this will be especially important to car nuts who have to venture downtown – you can preview the parking situation.

Unfortunately, Street View’s limitations will reduce the usefulness of this development – pictures simply won’t be available in a lot of areas.  Still, as Street View continues to become more useful (in addition to "cool"), Google may win more support for its expensive and occasionally privacy-invading side project.

The pumps manufactured by Greensboro, N.C. based Gilbarco Veeder-Root, will have an Internet connection and will display Google Maps on a small color screen. Drivers will be able to search through a number of categories to locate hotels, restaurants, landmarks and hospitals chosen by the gas station’s owner.

When a motorist decides on a destination the gas pump will print out directions. Gilbarco Veeder-Root wants to eventually allow drivers to type in any address and receive directions. "We think the service will create more customer loyalty for retailers," Gilbarco Veeder-Root spokeswoman Lucy Sackett told the AP.

The mapping service will not feature ads but retailers will be able to earn revenue from merchants that offer coupons on the service. Google principal business development manager, Karen Roter Davis said the company wanted to make its services available when people needed them the most. She called the mapping service, "sort of a Googley, more stealthy way of getting directions."

In a post on the Lat Long Blog, Barry Brumitt, a software engineer, explained Google’s implementation of the feature.  “When you click the the [sic] ‘Avoid Highways’ checkbox, the route instantly updates to one that tries very hard to stay off of interstates, motorways, and other major roadways,” states Brumitt.

He then admits, “This may give you a much longer path, but one that you may find more suitable.  If it isn’t what you want, you can uncheck the box and quickly revert to the normal route to help plan your trip.”

For some of us, this update won’t be a big deal (your WebProNews writers live around Lexington, Kentucky, where the traffic is generally pretty decent).  But for others . . .

MG Siegler writes, “I can’t tell you how useful this would have been when I lived in Los Angeles and every single time I would look up a direction on Google Maps it would tell me to take either the 101, the 405, or the 10.  Anyone who has ever lived in Los Angeles knows that you don’t want to be anywhere near those beasts from about 3:30pm – 7:30pm on any given day.”

So three cheers for Google may be in order.  Granted, other mapping services have offered an “avoid highways” feature for a long time, but, with all the other mapping and mobile services Google has been releasing lately, it’s easy to see how this option could have gotten placed on a back burner.

To me, this sounds like some premature back-patting by whichever senior executive at the media conglomerate decided to get all medieval on YouTube for hosting things like clips of Jon Stewart, or South Park

Google Base made its debut in Germany and the UK, a move Clay Bavor, Associate Product Manager, Google Base, blogged would be “two more steps toward our goal of creating an easily searchable database of all the world’s structured information.”

Once information has been submitted to Google Base, it becomes available to users on other Google services. Those who do Google web searches, Froogle queries, or even lookups from Google Maps may come across the info provided to Google Base when relevant.

Bavor reiterated why Base will be important for Google’s users in the post:

Ask has made some nice strides in Europe with its maps. For example, their UK Maps and Directions offer options for travel by car or by foot when looking for directions somewhere.

Farmers supporter Michiel Frishert, Ask.com Site Research and Development, posted recently to his company’s blog about their new aerial maps of locations in Europe.

Frishert also provided quick links to some notable European landmarks like Buckingham Palace and the Eiffel Tower for visitors to see with Ask’s aerial imagery.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

…you might want to save these directions on how to use it as a GPRS/Edge modem in your references file for when you need to get on the Internet but no Wifi network is nearby. Thanks to Mike Poulson for doing the hard work.

Robert Scoble is the founder of the Scobleizer blog. He works as PodTech.net’s Vice President of Media Development.

Go to Scobleizer …

Search engines have long made their living off other people’s content, exchanging access to an algorithm that finds their sites when relevant to a search for the indexing that takes place. Now that the battle for lucrative local advertising dollars has moved online, the big four need to outdo each other with content.

And as before, that content will come from users, an AP report noted.

AOL operates Mapquest, which has been the most heavily used mapping site online. Maps figure prominently in the plans for the other three companies. Google merged its Maps and Local services earlier in 2005, and Microsoft debuted its Windows Live Local as the new front end to MSN Virtual Earth.

There are some types of content that high technology can’t collect. AP noted how Microsoft will trial a program that canvasses mountain bikers for good trail routes. Yahoo has long solicited user ratings and reviews on the various businesses available in its Local listings.

As they work at improving the driving directions and local listings, AP said the big four have to embrace a new challenge: walking and biking directions. Ask Jeeves has had foot directions as an option for its UK-based Local site, so it should be something the others could implement as well.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.