Behind the scenes, tech firms mapping the world

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AFP) — Two firms are racing to map the world as the Internet goes increasingly mobile with ever more sophisticated gadgets for people on the move.

Netherlands-based Tele Atlas and Navteq, which has a US headquarters, crisscross countries around the world to gather information about what is where and how to drive to it.

The data they stockpile turns up in mapping services offered by Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, as the Internet titans expand "location-based" features far beyond simply providing directions to travelers.

"We're mapping the world," John Bates of Tele Atlas told AFP. "In 3-D."

A Tele Atlas minivan with eight rooftop cameras and a laser sensor was in a sea of mobile phones, personal navigation devices, and...