From an Associated Press article published on CNN.com -

Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam expressed concern Saturday about a free mapping program from Google Inc., warning it could help terrorists by providing satellite photos of potential targets.

You can read the entire article at India Warns: Google Terror Threat on CNN.com

We have discussed the Google Earth satellite image software that has been used by numerous people to discover everything from ancient ruins to military installations.  You can try the Google Earth software for yourself at Google Earth .

William Bright, a creative New Yorker who runs a site called iPodSubwayMaps.com has received legal threats from the New York and Bay Area Rapid Transit Authorities for posting downloadable subway maps for the iPod on his site. 

His site contains dozens of downloadable iPod subway maps for major cities around the world, like the Paris Metro and London Underground as well as NYC and San Francisco.  The maps are convenient for subway riders with an iPod in any of these cities.

You can visit William Bright’s site at iPodSubwayMaps.com .

You can also read the full article iPod Maps Draw Legal Threats by Matt Reed @ Wired.com.   

An Italian computer programmer named Luca Mori accidentally discovered some ancient Roman ruins while messing around with Google Earth satellite images.  Property owners along the gulf coast have been using Google Earth satellite images to view property damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.  What will Google Earth ‘unearth’ next? Is it possible that Google Earth images or other modern searches and communications could foil terrorist attacks?  With a little creativity, who knows what you can find?  Read more at Google Earth Finds Roman Ruins @ RedHerring.com. 

The National Atlas  allows you to view maps of the United States with various demographic and geographic layers.

Map layer subjects include:
- Agriculture
- Biology
- Boundaries
- Climate
- Environment
- Geology
- History
- Map Reference
- People
- Transportation
- Water

A partnership between Nextel Communications and Trimble Outdoors ( makers of GPS software ) will allow consumers to have a GPS - global positioning system - built right into their cell phones.  Although the technology has a steep learning curve, it should become more  user friendly as time goes on.

Now, whether you are on a main road or off the beaten path, you will be able to find your exact location, using a GPS enabled cell phone.  You can read more about this technology at GPS: Mapping by cellphone by Tricia Duryee @ The Seattle Times, published by northjersey.com .

A great example of how publicly available information online can have national and international security implications.   This article details how the Google Earth satellite images reveal secret South Korean military installations.  The full article is available here: Google Earth images compromise secret installations in S. Korea @ worldtribune.com.

How is this one for a unique mapping site?  A9.com offers maps of major U.S. cities that allow you to view the map location at the street level on both sides.  You can search for a specific address or just travel the street by moving the magnifying  glass along the map layout.  You can also "walk" the street virtually by moving the arrows on the picture frames.  Try the A9 map search out for yourself at maps.a9.com .