More about Google Maps

Satellite view
Google Maps provides high-resolution satellite images for most urban areas in the United States (including Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as parts of Australia and many other countries. The high-resolution imagery has been used by Google Maps to cover all of Egypt's Nile Valley, Sahara desert and Sinai. Google Maps also covers many cities in the English speaking areas. However, Google Maps is not solely an English maps service, since its service is intended to cover the world. The highest-resolution images are in some Japanese cities, such as Tokyo.

Various governments have complained about the potential for terrorists to use the satellite images in planning attacks.[4] Google has blurred some areas for security (mostly in the United States),[5] including the U.S. Naval Observatory area (where the official residence of the Vice President is located), and previously[citation needed] the United States Capitol and the White House (which formerly featured this erased housetop). Other well-known government installations, including Area 51 in the Nevada desert, are visible. Not all areas on satellite images are covered in the same resolution; less populated areas usually get less detail. Some areas may be obscured by patches of clouds.[6][7]

With the introduction of an easily pannable and searchable mapping and satellite imagery tool, Google's mapping engine prompted a surge of interest in satellite imagery. Sites were established which feature satellite images of interesting natural and man-made landmarks, including such novelties as "large type" writing visible in the imagery, as well as famous stadia and unique geological formations. As of November 2008[update], the U.S. National Weather Service also now uses Google Maps within its local weather forecasts, showing the 5 x 5 km "point forecast" squares used in forecast models.[8]

Although Google uses the word satellite, most of the high-resolution imagery is aerial photography taken from airplanes rather than from satellites.[9]

See also: Coverage details of Google Maps
[edit] Directions
Google Maps directions work:

Contiguously in North America: Alaska* (excluding the Panhandle), Canada* and the continental United States*
Contiguously in South America: Argentina, Brazil* and Chile*
Contiguously in Europe: Andorra, Austria*, Belgium*, Bulgaria, Croatia*, Czech Republic*, Denmark* (excluding the Faroe Islands), Estonia, France*, Finland*, Germany*, Greece*, Gibraltar, Hungary*, Ireland, Italy*, Latvia, Liechtenstein*, Lithuania, Luxembourg*, Monaco*, The Netherlands*, Norway*, Poland*, Portugal* (excluding the Azores and Madeira), San Marino, Slovakia*, Slovenia, Serbia*, Spain* (including the Canary Islands but excluding Ceuta and Melilla), Sweden*, Switzerland*, Turkey*, Ukraine, United Kingdom* and Vatican City (i.e. all of Europe excluding Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, FYR Macedonia, Iceland, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia and Serbia).
Contiguously in Southeast Asia: Singapore*, peninsular Malaysia* and Thailand*
In certain noncontiguous countries and regions: Australia*, China*, India*, Indonesia (Bali, Java and Sumatra only), Israel (and parts of the West Bank), Hawaii*, Hong Kong*, Japan*, Macau*, New Zealand*, Puerto Rico*, Russia* (Moscow area only), Sabah*, Sarawak*, Taiwan*, South Africa* and the US Virgin Islands*.
^ = not all roads are featured in this country, so directions are very limited.

* = has directions and places of interest.