GOOGLE: WE DID NOT ERASE MAPS OF GEORGIA
By Miguel Helft

New York Times Blogs
August 12, 2008, 6:51 pm
NY

UPDATE 8:05 PM, Google explains why it never had maps of Georgia

My colleague John Markoff wrote earlier today about the barrage of
cyber-attacks on Georgia’s technology infrastructure. Others have
covered the story as well.

But not all stories appear to be accurate. Several reports suggest
that data from Georgia and the neighboring countries of Armenia
and Azerbaijan has been stripped from Google Maps. One story says
that "the relevant maps went blank as soon as fighting broke out,"
according to the Azerbaijan Press Agency.

Google says that’s not so. While its Web maps shows only the outlines
of those three countries — without roads or even the capital cities
marked — Google says that the lack of information is not new.

"Google has not made any recent change to Georgia, Armenia and
Azerbaijan in Google Maps," the company said in a statement. "We do
not have local data for those countries and that is why local details
such as landmarks and cities do not appear."

Browsing Google Maps, only a few countries appear to lack any data at
all. They include small nations like Guyana and Suriname; countries
that are largely close to foreigners, such as North Korea; and a few
surprising ones, like South Korea and Argentina.

Interestingly, Google Earth, the company 3-D geographic visualization
service, identifies many Georgian cities, and it allows users to
zoom in to them close enough to see individual buildings. So Google
Earth clearly has some "local data" on the countries that are blank
on Google Maps.

Microsoft’s rival mapping service, Virtual Earth, pinpoints dozens
on cities in Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Update: In a blog post late Tuesday, Google said it never filled
in the maps of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan because it wasn’t
satisfied with the map data available. But after users complained
that a little information is better than no information, the company
said it is planning to start adding map data to countries that are
currently blank.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress