Google Maps' Progress on International (...XO)

Closing the digital divide is obviously more than just having international maps on Google – but at least that little piece continues to see progress.

Google announced adding 54 more countries:

Afghanistan, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen

The announcement points out these two maps, which really have great detail: “…the flavor of an energetic metropolis like Mexico City or scope out the relaxed vibe of a small island like Aruba…” Flip to Satellite and zoom in… pretty fun stuff, though not as relevant if you don’t live there.

Well, I’ve been speculating what the children of the world will first browse, as the $100 Laptop, called the “XO,” nears DEPLOYMENT NEXT YEAR. The governments of Argentina, Brazil, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Thailand and Uruguay have ordered 1 Million for their children already. (Uruguay is on both lists.)

I have long suspected the map mashups may be the most interesting thing of all, with native-language blogs right there, too.

By the way, thanks Nick Negroponte, you’ve got my vote for a Nobel prize. Nick founded the One Laptop Per Child program (and MIT). By the way, his father Dimitri emigrated from Greece.