New Chinese Online Map service

BEIJING - China on Tuesday officially launched a state-sponsored mapping website that is aimed at offering "authoritative, credible and unified" online mapping service.

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The online service, which is overseen by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping, can be accessed at www.tianditu.cn.

The bureau said in a statement that the website included the most comprehensive geographical data and information on China.

Global geographic data is accessible at the site, said SBSM vice director Min Yiren at a Tuesday press conference, adding that the data on China was "particularly detailed," covering towns and villages in China's extensive rural areas.

MAP WORLD has 11 million place names in it. Among them are some 120,000 points of interests including hotels, restaurants, retail businesses, government institutions, banks and roads.   

People can use MAP WORLD, for instance, to find a hotel in Beijing near subways or bus stations and then plan a travel route by measuring the distance between the hotel and tourists sites like the Forbidden City, Min said.  

According to him, there is no charge for using MAP WORLD's basic services, but services designed for corporate users will come with fees.

Tuesday's official version came out after revisions and improvements were made based on users' suggestions since the launch of the beta version last October. 

Min said his bureau will use unmanned aerial vehicles, satellites and other remote sensing technologies to constantly improve the quality and precision of the mapping services.

Based on a software named "GeoGlobe," Chinese scientists have independent intellectual property rights on MAP WORLD which is supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program, Min said.

Currently, a couple of Chinese companies, such as Baidu and Sohu, as well as foreign rivals provide online mapping services in China. The SBSM last year issued a regulation, asking all services providers to be qualified for business.

Min said at the press conference that so far more than 100 websites, including one run by a joint venture with Nokia, have qualified to provide online mapping services in China.

Another nearly 100 websites' applications are pending approval, he added.