Now, Google Maps to take you inside malls, airports

Search giant Google has launched the latest version of its map service that would help people to navigate inside places like shopping centres and airports.

Google's new Maps 6.0 Android software automatically displays detailed floor plans of buildings and can even tell which floor you are on by working out your exact location.

A pulsing blue dot shows where you are and the direction you are facing and can steer you to a particular store or airport gate.

The software currently works only at selected sites in Japan and the US, but it is likely to be launched in the UK as more and more companies make their data available to Google, the Daily Mail reports.

The airports mapped include San Francisco International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

And the shopping centres mapped include Mall of America in Minneapolis and selected IKEA, Macy's, Bloomingdales stores.
 
Brian McClendon, Google Earth and Maps vice president of engineering, said in a statement on his official blog that the company would soon add new indoor maps to public buildings across the world.

"We're thrilled Google Maps continues to provide you with new and helpful perspectives, whether you're rushing through the airport or finding your way around a mall," McClendon wrote.

"Google Maps for Android enables you to figure out where you are and see where you might want to go when you're indoors," he added.