The UK and Germany now have releases of Google Base for their Internet users; meanwhile, Ask.com has expanded its mapping imagery throughout Europe.
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:
First, it simplifies the process by which people give Google information they want to share. Rather than having many places to upload information to Google, there’s just one.
Second, by accepting all sorts of structured content–that is, content with attributes like “color” or “square footage” or “location”–Google Base increases the comprehensiveness of Google search by making a wider variety of data available.
Finally, the nature of Google Base’s structured content makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for by using attributes to refine their search.
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.
Not only do we have great maps coverage for the Netherlands, but also for a lot of Western Europe and even parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. We hope to cover the entire world at some point, but this is a great start for our users 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 Murdok covering technology and business.
