Google Maps Finds Your Nearby Friends with Latitude

Google Maps has added a friend-finding, location-aware feature for mobile phones and iGoogle that tells selected friends and contacts where you are, updates through Google Talk, and claims lots of privacy features.

Head to google.com/latitude from your Android, Blackberry, Symbian S60, or Windows Mobile phone, or in your desktop browser, to activate Latitude (iPhone support is on the way, the big G says). Both mobile phones running the Latitude app and browser with Google Gears installed can automatically update your location using Maps' My Location feature, but you can set up, contact-by-contact, who sees your live updates, who doesn't, and even set up status messages for individuals—so, perhaps, the boss only sees that you're at your desk, nowhere else, not even thinking about sneaking out for coffee.

The app and iGoogle gadget launch today with availability in 27 countries and 42 languages. Check out an overview of how Latitude works, and its privacy features, in this video:



Source: lifehacker.com