On 8 February 2005, Google Maps was launched for the first time in the USA. Since then, Google Maps has developed and made digital maps on computers and smartphone widely available for the public.
The easy access to digital maps has facilitated locating, navigating and trip planning for any user linking the digital world with the physical world. Starting with searchable, scollable and zoomable maps, Google Maps soon added driving and public directions and satellite imagery.
“Our aim was to create one seamless, browsable map of the entire world – an Earth that you could browse,” John Hanke, co-founder of Keyhole and vice president of Google’s geospatial division until 2011. This statement was strengthened through the implementation of Google Street View which was launched in selected US cities in 2006 and two years after in 2008 in Europe, Japan and Australia, Google Maps’ most controversial and popular feature.
