The Google Earth mapping feature is being modified to help people displaced by Hurricane Katrina, in the latest of a series of modifications to the technology.


On Web sites such as scipionus, Internet users are adapting Google’s mapping technology to track storm damage, analyze aerial photos and try to make sense of what little information is available.

The website says, ‘This map is intended for the use of people affected by Hurricane Katrina who have or are trying to find information about the status of specific locations affected by the storm and its aftermath.’ The website also provides a set of instructions using which users can contribute ‘information about the status of an area that is not yet on the map.

The site was created by Jonathan Mendez and Greg Stoll, software engineers who work together in Austin, Texas, according to media accounts. It went up Wednesday afternoon, accounts said, and already has attracted nearly 300,000 visitors who have left more than 600 tags.

Google Maps is now being used by datings sites to housing sites to crime investigation.

To check out Google Map click here.

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