Google Maps Get Social with Location Sharing

Google has made Google Maps social, by allowing users to automatically share the location of their mobile phone to friends so they always know where you are and when they are nearby.

To enroll in the new Google Latitude simply download the latest Mobile Maps or desktop gadget for laptops and you will be on your way as long as your device has a GPS and you enable the MyLocation service. You can share your location with anyone, the entire city, or nobody - the choice is yours. Google also said they do not store your history of locations, only the last location you were at.

Unfonrtunalty, iPhone users are left out in the dark on this one as you must leave the application running all the time for it to update your location information - not to mention the battery drain it would place on your iPhone.

With Latitude, not only can you see your friends' locations on a map, but you can also be in touch directly via SMS, Google Talk, Gmail, or by updating your status message; you can even upload a new profile photo on the fly. It's a fun way to feel close to the people you care about.

Ready to share your location? If you have a mobile smartphone, visit google.com/latitude on your phone's web browser to download the latest version of Google Maps for mobile with Latitude. Latitude is available on Blackberry, S60, and Windows Mobile, and will be available on Android in the next few days. They expect it will be coming to the iPhone, through Google Mobile App, very soon.