mapquest.com

MapQuest is a map publisher and free online Web Map Server, owned by AOL. The company was founded in 1967 as Cartographic Services division of R.R. Donnelley & Sons in Chicago. The map creation software was originally developed by GeoSystems to generate maps for customers. That code was adapted for use on the internet to create the web service. Later the company was renamed to MapQuest to leverage the brand popularity. For a while, MapQuest had satellite images, but later removed them. In September 2006, the web site is once again testing the concept in a new Beta program.

In 2005, MapQuest, Research in Motion and Sprint launched MapQuest Find ME, a buddy-finder service that works on GPS-enabled mobile phones. MapQuest Find Me lets users automatically find their location, access maps and directions and locate nearby points of interest including airports, hotels, restaurants, banks and ATMs. Users also have the ability to set up alerts to be notified when network members arrive or depart from a designated area.

In July 2006, MapQuest created a BETA version in which users could now "Build Your Route" by adding additional stops, reorder one's route (and the stops along the way), and avoid any turn or road en route.

Services and programs

MapQuest provides street-level detail and driving directions for the following countries:

• United States
• Canada
• Austria
• Belgium
• Denmark
• Dominican Republic
• France
• Haiti
• Germany
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Arab Emirates
• United Kingdom

A MapQuest-branded Yellow Pages service is provided by AOL. Other services include a world atlas, and MapQuest Mobile. MapQuest Mobile is a service providing maps and driving directions to any Web-enabled Mobile phone or Personal Digital Assistant. MSN, Yahoo! and Google have competing services as followed Google Maps, Windows Live Local and Yahoo! Maps.

Publishing

MapQuest produces and publishes a variety of Road Atlases & Maps. In addition, MapQuest publishes "private label" publications under contract with major national companies such as Barnes & Noble.

See also

• Maps of the Netherlands - shows parameters in the URL, can also be used for other countries.

External links

• Official website
• MapQuest Find Me
• MapQuest Driving Directions Guide
• EarthSpots.com User maintained directory of places with links to open in MapQuest.com

Competition

• ABmaps
• Google Maps
• Map24
• MultiMap
• ViaMichelin
• R24 Maps
• Windows Live Local
• Y! Maps

To add MapQuest links to Wikipedia articles, see use of MapQuest maps in Wikipedia