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11.15.07
Google Gears Up For Australian Election
 By
Doug Caverly
As much as we're bombarded with political claptrap in America, elections may be an even bigger deal in Australia, where voting is compulsory.
As a result, Google Australia is keying up for the coming federal election.
"We've now updated the 'Australian 2007 Election' feature in Google Maps so that, for all 150 House of Representatives seats, you can click on any candidate's name to see all their Google search results, or their YouTube channel," report Googlers Rob Shilkin and Julian Sonego on the Official Google Blog.
They then write, "And with one click, you can now find an incredible array of information from across the Internet -- news stories, videos, personal websites, party websites, blogs, and all the rest -- about all 1,054 candidates for all 150 seats."
Even if you're not familiar with Australian politics, this makes for an impressive display - although this much information (and more) has always existed, it's rarely collected in one place.
Shilkin and Sonego later continue, "We've also added in all polling booth locations based on information from the Australian Electoral Commission, so voters can easily find their nearest polling booth on the map, together with opening hours and wheelchair accessibility."
The election will take place on November 24th, so that leaves Australians (and interested outsiders) about nine more days to process these reports.
Time to get out the reading glasses.
Also, Americans might take this as a preview of what could be put in place for the 2008 presidential election.
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.
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