Google India launches ‘Mapathon 2013’

Google India has launched 'Mapathon 2013', a contest for amateur cartogrphers and cartography enthusiasts in the country, which, in turn, will help the global internet company to improve its Google Maps.

Mapathon 2013 will start on 12 February  2013 and run till 25 March and is open to any one from India.

''We are inviting amateur mappers and mapping enthusiasts from all over the country to help us create better maps for India by adding their knowledge of local places through Google Map Maker,'' Google said in a statement.

The top 1,000 "mappers" participating in Mapathon stand a chance to win Android tablets, smartphones, gift vouchers and Google merchandise.

''Google aims to provide better maps for India by building better maps for the users, by the users. What started off as an initiative by a few Google engineers is now used across the world and today, citizens across India can participate in this great project through Mapathon 2013,'' Jayanth Mysore, Product Manager, Google India said.

Google Map Maker, which was conceptualised in India more than four years ago, is an easy-to-use tool that allows users to add more details to Google Maps.

Using Google Map Maker, users can select a specific area on Google Maps and add new information based on local knowledge or by referencing Google Maps satellite imagery.

Registration for the competition is open and users need to sign up at: http://g.co/mapindia2013