The success of a Google Maps design for Rockstar’s blockbuster $500 million title Grand Theft Auto IV has game site IGN begging gamers for patience with their submitted content.

Google is working on a new product aimed at mapping the vastness of the ocean floor.

A group of oceanography experts gathered at the Googleplex in December to discuss plans for developing a 3D oceanographic map. The new tool is tentatively called Google Ocean and is believed to be similar to other 3D mapping applications, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The tool would allow users to see underwater topography, search for specific spots and navigate by zooming and panning.

Gigantic buildings are generally easier to see than four-inch street signs, and for that reason, it’s often easiest to use landmarks to navigate.  Now, in some areas, Google can help; the company has integrated its Street View images and turn-by-turn directions.

WebProNews is based in Kentucky, where we’re relatively safe from many types of natural disasters.  We felt something between a large rumble and a small rattle following Illinois’s earthquake, however, which makes it more interesting on a personal level that Google Maps is being used to track other recent quakes.

If you run a brick-and-mortar business or if your business is location-specific in some way, you likely pay close attention to mapping developments. Yahoo Local just upgraded its mapping services to help users zero in a bit better on different areas.

Contour lines don’t come up on a daily basis; it’s rare enough that anyone even checks a map.  But contour lines do have a number of uses, and Google has just introduced the lines on its Terrain Maps option within Google Maps.

On some level, it seems like Google is always expressing an "I want you to want me"-type feeling.  The volume got turned up a little, however, with the release of Google Maps API Premier.

New updates on Yahoo Maps bring along lots more neighborhoods and an improved style scheme to clearly represent map information.

The developers spoke, and Yahoo answered. Support for ActionScript 3 arrived for the Yahoo Maps API today.

If you just can’t stand to wait until late tonight or early tomorrow to find out the results of Super Tuesday, there are some ways to abate the political DT’s. You could stare at CNN and Fox all day, or you could see real people’s reactions and feelings. In this case, Google and Twitter have you covered.

Okay, okay. When I said "real people," I meant people techo-hip and savvy enough to be using a microblogging platform like Twitter, which isn’t, not even close, representative of the American whole. But still, this is pretty interesting.

Since the writers’ strike started, I’ve found myself watching a lot less television, and to be honest, having an extra hour or so per night is quite nice.  I’m sure that a lot of "Lost" fans will tune in to the season four premiere on January 31st, however, and in the meantime, a Google Map may be of some interest.

According to Hitwise, Google Maps is growing in popularity rapidly. While they have a long way to go to overtake the leader in the maps sector, Google Maps is the only major map site to see an increase in traffic over the last year.

Like Google, MapQuest entered the vernacular as a verb. As in: I mapquested it. The AOL-owned online map service is still the top site of its kind, but that position is threatened by Google Maps, which is, um, en route to surpass it.

Caution: More bad puns likely.

Some time ago, a number of Citysearch reviews disappeared from Google Maps, and a sort of update has now occurred.  A quick summary: Google is not mad at Citysearch (or its parent company, IAC), but resolving the issue doesn’t appear to be a top priority, either.

Want straightforward news about New Hampshire’s primary?  So do I.  Yet within about seven seconds of turning on the television this morning, I heard someone begin a sentence with "If you buy my book . . ."  In contrast, Google Maps offers a neutral representation of events.

When the Amazon Kindle first came out, we kind of laughed at it; limited by battery life and with a $400 price tag, it allowed you do nothing more than read separately purchased books.  Now, we’re still not ready to embrace the thing, but it turns out that the Kindle is a little better than most people previously believed.

If you don’t like the route Yahoo Maps suggests for a trip, a new feature allows you to drag and drop the route to take you a different way.

The Virtual Earth team wants our feedback.

Wonderful. Kudos to any company that wants its customers’ feedback and offers a participatory approach. So, here’s my feedback…

Microsoft added a LOT of whizbang features to its maps.live.com maps (3D, lots of photos, and such) but they didn’t focus on the basics.

The name of Google Maps is pretty self-defining.  Google is the owner, and maps are those little help-you-find-your-way drawings.  But now a new update is tossing books, pictures, and videos into the equation.

The search page of Google Maps now shows location markers. The markers can be in the form of videos from YouTube, books from Google Book search or geo-tagged photos from Panoramio.

Maybe car or restaurant reviews seem a little more useful, but no matter; Google is now allowing people to rate and comment on everything created with its My Maps software.