Google Goes Local

[luck777jojo]

Internet darling Google is taking search to the streets, helping Web surfers find cafes, parks or even Wi-Fi hot spots in their area.

On Wednesday, the Web search company unveiled Google Local, which has been tested in the company's research and development lab for the last 8 months. Type a keyword along with an address or city name into the search box at Google.com or at its newly designated site, Local.google.com, to find maps, locally relevant Web sites and listings from businesses in the area.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google is giving prominence to local search at a time when it's one of the most hyped areas of development in the industry. Financial analysts and industry executives say geographically targeted search listings are prime real estate for local advertising, an estimated $12 billion annual business in the United States. In 2004, less than $50 million of that market will go toward ads related to local Net searches, but over time, the dollars will find their way to the virtual world, analysts say.

Source: CNet

Personal note: perhaps soon google will be able to help us find that missing sock