Google is tweaking the mobile version of Google Maps to allow developers to layer information over the application, a feature that it hopes will lead to new uses. The search company released on Thursday a subset of its keyhole markup language (KML), which developers can use to create place markers to highlight points of interest on the version of Google Maps accessible by mobile phones and handheld devices.
Gummi Hafsteinsson, product manager at Google, sees a wide variety of uses for the technology for mobile users. For instance, a hotel could create a KML overlay that flags the location of restaurants and stores providing special offers on food or goods. Another application could be a KML overlay that provided real-time information on gas station prices, he said.