The first such initiative is Oprah’s "No Phone Zone", which lets users make a pledge under three different options: no texting, no texting plus handsfree calling only, and no phone use at all while driving. These pledges are then mapped in near real-time using the API, so others can see where and when these pledges were made.

The second initiative is about educating people about state policies related to phone use on the road. There is another map in which users can click on a state to see restrictions on texting, handsfree, and handheld phone use. Users can then click through for more details from the Governors Highway Safety Association, or even contact a state Governor’s office directly.

"Mobile communication has revolutionized the way we live, but unfortunately, irresponsible use has also made the roads more dangerous," says Jesse Friedman, a Google Product Marketing Manager. "In 2008, nearly 6000 people lost their lives in the US and more than half a million people were injured in police-reported crashes during which some form of driver distraction was reported — and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cell phone use was a major contributor to that."

I’ll go out on a limb and say Google does not want you to view these maps on your phone while you’re driving. Oprah’s site has more info about the No Phone Zone initiative.

Google Upgrades Google Earth

Google Maps for Enterprise is a fee-based, licensed service for businesses wishing to use to the Google Maps API for websites or internal applications. It enables customers to incorporate Google Maps into customer tracking, shipping, facilities management, or other data sources used in a geographic context.

“[W]e’ve heard from many organizations that want to use Google mapping technology behind the firewall or for web-based enterprise applications,” said Google product manager David Bercovich. “Now you can provide all the Google Maps features that users love — such as the ability to drag maps in the browser and view satellite imagery.

“That means whether you’re displaying customer data on a map, managing assets in the field, or delivering a location-finder to your customers or partners, Google Maps integrates with your data to provide a truly compelling user experience.”

The Google Enterprise Solutions webpage, where a trial API key and examples can be found, lists a few sample applications:

Google Maps for Enterprise leaked out among a slew of other applications and upgrades to Google Earth and Google Maps, in honor of the first anniversary of Google Earth and Google’s first Geo Developer Day. John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Maps reports that Google Earth has surpassed 100 million unique downloads and that 30,000 websites have created mash-ups using the Google Maps API.

The current update to Google Earth increases the global coverage by a factor of four, now covering over 20 percent of the Earth’s landmass. That translates to about a third of the Earth’s population, or 2 billion people in 200 countries, that can officially say, “I can see my house from here.” And they can see it better too, as the resolution has been increased from 15 meters per pixel to about 70 cm per pixel, and 10 cm per pixel in some countries. The imagery, provided through a partnership with Digital Globe will be accessible in Google Maps soon.

The Google Earth team has extended its new functionalities, including the addition of textured buildings in 3D, to Windows, Mac, and for the first time, Linux operating systems; available now in French, Italian, German and Spanish. The 3D capabilities mesh well with Google SketchUp to add realism to the “collectively-authored 3D world SketchUp users are creating.”

In response to the Maps API developer requests, the company has also added street-level geocoding for the US, Canada, Japan, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. The addition of geocoding will be especially useful in creating Google Maps mash-ups.

Finally, Google Maps will enable the display of Keyhole Markup Language (KML), the file format used by Google Earth and other applications to share geographic information. This will enable data created in the Earth program to be viewed in a web browser as a simple mash-up. Google says KML requires “no computer programming expertise.”

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