The map focuses on the rivers Thames and Ock, the two major rivers in the county of Berkshire, and highlights flood warnings along their banks.
The 'mashup' provides invaluable information to people in the flood-hit areas of the county and contributors have been sending content to be added in their droves. Videos include a clip taken on a mobile phone from the second storey of a house which shows severe flooding in gardens and footage of burst river banks provided by BBC News. Pictures range from the humorous, consisting of people rowing boats down flood-hit roads, to the devastating, with one user submitting a picture of their garage which was demolished by a neighbour's shed floating into it.
By clicking on highlighted parts of the rivers on the map, you'll receive flood warnings from BBC Radio Berkshire from the Environment Agency, along with the time that they were advised of the change in status.
The map is only one of the many ingenious ways that Google Maps has been implemented to show collaborative information recently. A fortnight ago Google allowed users more access to the Google Maps API in order to create their own map applets, or 'mapplets'.
Examples of the new innovative ways in which the Google Maps API is now being implemented can be seen all over the web in the form of many different uses. Eyestride is a start-up company which will soon allow users to create virtual tours of locations all over the world by marrying them with their digital photo collections. TennisMaps allows users in the United States to add details of tennis courts in their city or town, so that whenever you feel the need for a few sets you'll not be left out in the cold.
