Yahoo Updates Maps Service

New beta version of Yahoo Maps offers enhanced features such as tighter integration with other Yahoo services, multi-point routing and drag and drop points of interest.

Yahoo yesterday said they had enhanced their Yahoo Maps service with a focus on improving ease of use and personalization. The new features are currently in beta and can be accessed here.

The new Yahoo Maps, the online portal said, offer features including multi-point routing with drag and drop reordering, a larger main map and new mini map, drag and drop points of interest and expandable turn by turn directions and a “My Locations” function which auto completes addresses from previously entered locations including saved map locations and Yahoo Address Book listings.

Other features include a customized start page which defaults to a user’s saved or recent location, tighter integration with Yahoo Local via “seamless access” to information about points of interest such as hotels and restaurants, “Address to Business:” matching which does automatic population of business names and information as users input addresses and more prominent integration of other Yahoo information such as live traffic conditions and send-to-phone capabilities.

Yahoo also has enhanced its suite of Yahoo Maps development tools, providing new APIs that will allow developers to use Maps in their Flash and dhtml applications. Examples of applications already created can be viewed here.

“Our new maps service is the result of extensive research on user preferences and experiences,” said Paul Levine, general manager for Local Services at Yahoo, in a statement. “We believe the design and rich relevant data have raised the bar for online mapping. The new Yahoo! Maps is focused on innovation to helps users more easily and accurately accomplish their tasks.”