This was previously only allowed for businesses, but now everyone can add places to Google Maps... at least in the US for now.

>> http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2008/03/add-places-to-google-maps.html

I wonder how the new places will be confirmed as real. Will it take multiple users submitting the exact same name/address to get it permanently saved?

>>I wonder how the new places will be confirmed as real
they would have hired people , to manually verify the addresses.

I love the openness of Google Maps, but I wonder how they combat map spam, or false information.

Jared : Look the comments of Ionut's article, Matt Cutts has answered.

Google posted to their LatLong blog about this topic today.

<< It's your world. Map it.

We realize that you know your neighborhood best. So to provide the most accurate maps possible, Google Maps is open to user edits. People have moved markers of their homes and businesses all around the U.S. and Australia, making Maps work even better.

And so we thought: Why stop there? Moving placemarks is just scratching the surface. After all, when a new place opens in your neighborhood or an old favorite changes its location, wouldn't be nice to have that change reflected on Maps immediately?

Now in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, you can log into your Google account to edit a place on the map. You can even mark that a business has closed to save someone an extra trip. Of course, we've taken steps to help protect accuracy – for example, you'll still be able to see the original listing information along with the history of changes made. This video shows you how to get started: ... >>

http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/03/its-your-world-map-it.html

I just moved a marker in my parents town and this is what it looks like once your edit has been saved.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/2344205398_a7d2da1096_o.png

Google tags the bottom line of the listing with your nickname and the time of the edit. Also there is a new survey available for this feature.

in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNT-JRyWykM the first time gmaps appears there is a new dropdown to select the style, instead of separate buttons for each..

Nice catch Luke!!

There are buttons for StreetView, Traffic and then a Map pulldown. What is next to the Map pulldown though?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2376/2346109660_2e213750ac_o.png

Looks like "Style" to me