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« Return to: The Web's Best Mapping Sites

Chart a Course for the Best Mapping Sites
Traffic reports, 3D views, and the ability to add notes are among the new features that help take the bumps out of your travels.
Rank Service PCW Rating Shortest travel time
and shortest distance		 Live traffic reports Add waypoints to routes Satellite views 3D views Save routes Annotations/
pushpins		 Send to cell phone Ads Comments
1 Microsoft Live Search 95
Superior		 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Unobtrusive Though neighborhoods aren't labeled on the maps at this feature-packed site, they appear after you conduct a search for businesses of a specific type.
2 Ask City 93 Superior No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No None To see a satellite view only, you have to disable 'Labels.' Right-click a map to snap to the closest address; the ability to save map snapshots makes retrieval easy.
3 Yahoo Maps 89
Very good		 No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Annoying If you have a Yahoo account, the maps pick up your saved locations automatically; driving directions are available for 34 European countries.
4 Google 83
Very good		 No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Unobtrusive Neighborhoods are labeled on the maps, but they aren't highlighted; the mapping site's send-to-phone capability works with most phone service carriers.
5 MapQuest 80
Very good		 Yes No No Yes No Yes No Yes Annoying You can expand maps at each driving step, avoid highways and tolls, and reverse your route with one click; driving directions are available for 12 European countries.