Wikimapia.org - Let's Describe The Whole World

WikiMapia is an online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information (in the form of a note) to any location on Earth. WikiMapia is unrelated to Wikipedia but the website states that it was “inspired by Wikipedia”. Using WikiMapia is fairly simple. WikiMapia allows you to add a "Hotspot" to any map by marking out a rectangle which is wiki-linked to a note providing information about the locality. The note may be in any of 64 languages currently supported, and may be modified by any contributor, as in a wiki. The possibility of roads marking will be introduced soon. You can also add private places like personal homes. If you have Google Earth installed you may see WikiMapia places by clicking on the WikiMapia data layer for Google Earth. Another awesome feature is that YouTube videos can be added to WikiMapia locations. Adding YouTube video URLs will automatically embed them into the place information page along with a link to the video’s page at YouTube. Like this place? You can help WikiMapia submitting WikiMapia to news sites and forums, adding new interesting places and modifying place information where needed, adding information in English, where is only another language. Registration is free and some functions are allowed only to registered users. Level 0 (unregistered users) can perform simple functions like add or edit a place, and add photos. Level 1 (registered users) can use almost all available functions, and Level 2 (advanced users) can perform all functions and some administrative like protect article, etc.

“WikiMapia is a Web 2.0 project to describe the whole planet Earth. It was created by Alexandre Koriakine and Evgeniy Saveliev, inspired by Google maps and Wikipedia. After a year of success that Wikimapia shown, we came to conclusion that we need big steps forward. We are planning to make Wikimapia much more interesting and useful for people, allowing them to get unique and fresh geoinformation data. To accomplish our plans and bring Wikimapia to a new level we need more financial resources than we have now, so we decided to start looking for an investor. Your advices, suggestions and thoughts about this subject are welcome and highly appreciated as we are very new in attracting investments.”

Google Earth popularity means there is a huge audience willing for this kind of services. WikiMapia potential success is banked on its offer of a wiki system. Wikimapia has been experiencing a rapid growth. By June 2007, 4 million localities had been identified.

Will they improve overall site functionality? This rapid growth has brought problems of its own with urban areas being covered with thousands of overlapping rectangles marking the position of private residences, but with no facility available to display places of public interest (as opposed to those of very restricted interest such as private houses, flats and apartments). Will they be able to cover all the planet? With Google Earth and Google Maps, will people prefer using WikiMapia?