Google has revealed a new version of Google Maps, designed to make it personal to each user.
Built with the ethos of "a map for every person and place", new features will include real-time displays of barriers to journeys - such as traffic accidents - and personalised recommendations for places to visit based on previous search results, reviews and connections on social media. Google describes it as "a mapping experience that helps you find places you never would have thought to search for".
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Businesses may find they benefit more from Google Maps than they did in the past, with more focus on displaying pop-up information about where they are and what they do, rather than waiting for the user to click on the small red dot used to indicate many buildings as with the current method.
Bigger companies, such as coffee chain Starbucks, will also benefit from the redesign, with the possibility of discounts being offered to those searching for where they can buy a coffee.
Navigation, one of the key uses for Google Maps, is also getting a redesign, with different methods of travel - such as car, public transport or walking - all displayed on the map at the same time for comparison. Users will also be able to select a travel destination by clicking on it, rather than typing an address as before, and Google will instantly provide the travel options.
Google has stressed that the redesign is currently "experimental" but the web firm is monitoring feedback and hopes that the new Maps service is "more engaging" for users.
According to research, Google currently holds a more than 90 per cent share of location-based searches in the US, but that hasn't stopped its rivals trying to compete in the map space.
Last year, Apple introduced its own map service for iPhone. However, criticisms about poor performance, bad directions and places being left entirely off the map eventually led to Apple Maps manager Richard Williamson being fired.
