A few items about Google Maps, some of which of interest to developers, others to everyone.

• An ad layer for Google Maps (see previous entry) is described as “ready for early testers”; at some point it will be unleashed for real (Digital Earth Blog, Mapperz).
• Geocoding — i.e., the ability of the system to provide coordinates with just a street address — has been added for Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Singapore and Taiwan.
• Driving directions now take rush hour traffic into account.