Google Maps has come out with Google Latitude which enables you to locate your friends in real time and share you location with other people.
This service is available in 27 countries and 42 languages.
Google Latitude is a step up from My Location, a feature of Maps which was introduced in 2007.
Latitude is run using a combination of Global Positioning System, Wi Fi and cell tower location data.
You can locate your friends and colleagues with the help of Google Latitude from your mobile phone as well as your desktop/ laptop computer. Another bonus feature is that if you have installed Google Gears or if you are using Google Chrome, then you can directly make use of this service from your computer. Latitude is similar to Dodgeball, a location service which Google bought the rights to some time ago.
It seems that Google has also taken a lot of care to ensure that the privacy of the individual is not violated. Latitude is opt-in and you can control how much location information you want to share and more importantly, with whom.
At present, Latitude works on most of the popular smartphone platforms such as Android, Blackberry, Symbian S60, and Windows Mobile. Latitude will soon be available from the App store through Google Mobile App.