Google Maps has published this quick and informative YouTube.com video tutorial to help users learn some of the handy ways you can use their “Street View” feature to explore 360 degree street level images of major US cities.

A growing number of people, business owners and police departments are using YouTube.com videos to fight crime and capture alleged criminals.

According to a recent NPR.org article, a cigar shop owner in Mesa, AZ recently uploaded a security camera video recording of two people that stole two Seiko watches from his store, in an effort to embarrass and catch the thieves. The shoplifter video was viewed over 30,000 times.

Eventually, local law enforcement caught the culprits, when the stolen watches were found at a pawn shop not far from the cigar store where they were stolen. Although it is unclear if the YouTube.com video played any role in the capture of the shoplifters, it highlights a new form of citizen crime fighting, using video sharing and social networking sites.

In another story, the Johnson City Police Department in Tennessee claims to have successfully used YouTube.com video clips to catch wanted criminals.

You can view one of the Johnson City Police Department wanted criminals videos below –

Crime videos are some of the most popular online video clips and routinely generate thousands of views, making them one more useful tool in catching criminals.

A new application for GPS tracking technology for use in soldiers’ uniforms could prevent ‘friendly fire’ incidents.

According to WorldTribune.com, the Israeli Army is looking into the use of GPS systems embedded in soldier uniforms to allow commanders to track their soldiers in real time to avoid ‘friendly fire’ incidents.

According to a senior Israeli Army officer – A major problem for army commanders is not always knowing where all of their troops are. A GPS tracking device on each soldier would allow them to determine if any of their soldiers was near a potential target.

NATO has already made GPS tracking standard practice.

Source: WorldTribune.com

Google has produced the following YouTube.com video clip to show people how to use their free 411 directory assistance service ( 1-800-GOOG-411 ) and explain its unique features.

Ted Rheingold has created a neat free people search extension for users of the Firefox web browser called “Who Is This Person?”

This handy web search extension allows users to highlight any person’s name on a web page to find out more about the person through information published on the web’s top social networking and people search sites like – MySpace.com, LinkedIn.com, Wink.com, Facebook.com, Wikipedia.com, Technorati.com, Google News, Yahoo People Search, Spock.com, WikiYou.com, ZoomInfo.com and others.

This is an easy way to quickly find information from numerous search sites, using one tool.

You can read more about the “Who Is This Person?” people finder extension and download it at Mozilla.org.