Google puts Moscow on the map

US media giant Google’s navigation service has finally got the Russian capital and its suburbs covered.

­Google has localized its Android-based maps application for the region – it works under Android 1.6 and newer operation systems for mobile devices.

The program is aimed at finding the best routes for cars, public transport and pedestrians.

It can be used for finding shops, cafes and companies even if you do not know the exact location. Google says you can just type or say the name and get the address.

Last year the navigation service was launched in Europe. Before that, it was available in the US and in the UK. More than 10 million people in 17 countries of the world are now using this program.

Developers of Google’s №1 competitor in Russia, Yandex.Maps, say the company is not scared by the new player in the market. Yandex stresses that their maps are more precise and work under a number of different mobile platforms.

Yandex also stresses that although Google application is free to download, its users should remember they will have to pay for the internet traffic the program eats while downloading the maps from Google servers.

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