The Google Maps team recently released the Google Maps Gallery to the public. It lets users add and share personal travels and adventures, according to the team.
The service extension was aimed at attracting more people to add maps to its database.
For instance, users are already given option to save location searches and point A to B directions in My Maps, formerly called Google Maps Engine Lite.
Now, mappers get to share their customized maps to other users in the Google Maps Gallery.
Users searching for directions or specific locations only need to enter a few keywords to generate results.
For example, the keywords "restaurants in New York" will show an elaborate food map of New York, from what users saved in their My Maps and added to the gallery.
It works like a tool that recommends places for people who like to travel or visit places. But unlike other tools, the maps gallery does not show paid ads, only what real people personally noted.
Google Maps also improved some user features to make adding maps easier.
One modification the team made was an option to style and organize a map. Instead of adjusting it point by point, a user can create it in layers so that previous map plots don't get lost.
Another was updating Google Docs to support the tool. A user will be able to obtain data from a Google Doc to create a map based on the uploaded details.
At the same time, a user can share maps through Google Docs.
Google also updated the Android app for users who want to access the tool on their gadgets and smartphones.
Google launched Google Maps Gallery in February exclusively for the contributions of the World Bank and the U.S. Geological Survey.