Following the appearance of thousands of Google Maps mashups, Google have introduced a new technology to encourage further user interaction. The “mapplets” (mini-webpages inside an IFrame) can be combined to create custom mashups: for example, you could display information on house prices, crime rates and cemeteries simultaneously, with built-in features such as driving directions thrown in for good measure.
The following YouTube video shows the system in use:
You can find out more about mapplets here:
http://www.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/mapplets/
More info on the Google Earth/Maps blog.
The service will be live to the public sometime today, following months of private beta.
