England, Scotland, and Wales are amongst the places being given updates on Google Maps for a new directional feature, as train maps and schedules are integrated into the system.

The update, which follows Google’s release of incorporated mapping of the famed London Underground subway system, will mean that users in the Great Britain region will be able to include train journeys (and their estimated times) in planning a trip in a similar manner to how bus information has been available.

The move has been aided by train ticket and guide website thetrainline.com, with the deal to include their data on Google’s Maps returned with links on the directions for users to purchase tickets from the site.

It is believed that Google have encouraged the update as a means of getting more international visitors to use the Maps service as part of a way to promote tourism in the whole of the British Isles ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London (England).

Richard Rowson, thetrainline.com’s ‘product development director’, said of the arrangement with Google: “We want to make sure consumers are always able to consider rail options when making a journey, and this innovation will help train travellers nationwide to do that by planning their route more easily.”

The system is noted as including data on over 2,500 stations and 170,000 routes (with integration for already-listed bus, tram, and tube stations (alongside walking directions)), so it appears to be complete enough for planning a train trip within or between the three above-mentioned countries, with the detail available as far as a direct journey across England from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Plymouth. According to Google’s new data, it will only take you eight-and-a-half hours…

While the world still reviews the fallout from last week’s unfortunate crash of the Costa Concordia cruise ship off the coast of Isla del Giglio (Italy), satellite imagery specialists DigitalGlobe have developed pictures of the disaster from above, giving an alternative view of the disaster which has so far reported to have claimed the lives of 11 of the 3200 passengers that were onboard at the time.

The images show a different angle of the surprising reality that the large vehicle ran aground on some rocks and is now half-sunk, and while much of the recent blame has fallen at the hands of the ship’s captain Francesco Schettino (who was reportedly steering the ship as it headed for the rocky waters, and then ‘fell’ into a lifeboat amid the rescue efforts), the main focus right now is naturally ensuring safety of the former passengers and the ship, as well as the vehicle itself. Will the newly-released satellite pictures from DigitalGlobe offer a better indication of how that process can be managed?

While Google Maps is generally regarded as having the best online maps and features on the web, there could soon be another reason that people can use to explain their dominance should a recent accusation be proven correct.

OpenStreetMap (OSM), a free contributions-based project that has been dubbed ‘the Wikipedia of mapping’, is currently attempting to fix a number of map problems that have been added to their database (such as erroneous street names, one-way roads listed in the wrong direction, ect.), with their IP tracking sources leading them to point the blame at a handful of users in India that were linked with a number of Google internet addresses.

It follows a recent incident that came when two users on Google IP addresses were caught in the act of ’scraping’ data on website Mocality (an online business directory in Kenya).

Google allegedly responded to these claims by stating that the pair were contractors for the company, but were acting on their own accord (and not under Google’s instruction), with the workers planned to be internally punished for their misconduct.

However, it seems as though a similar incident may have occurred directly on OSM, with a number of bad map changes thought to have occurred from users in India with traces to Google.

While OSM officials are looking into the situation and where the blame may lie, system administrator commented on the site’s blog to try and diffuse the instant accusations at Google, writing: “The board of OSMF are making mountains out of tiny pimples here. It seems that they want this to be some sort of organized corporate malfeasance on the part of Google which is why they have tried to link it to the recent Mocality incident where there was indeed clear evidence of such behavior. The reality in this case is that there is no evidence that this is any different to the numerous other incidents we get all the time where users either accidentally or deliberately make bogus edits.”

While Google used to be a key contributor to the OSM project in the past (even including some provision of maps), since June 2011 they have declared no affiliation with the free-to-operate service. With this accusation of a ‘corporate sabotage’ looming against them, could it be true that the Google gang cannot stand to face up to any form of incoming competition?

A pair of apps released by Immediate Media Co. (a company formed after the sale of ‘BBC Magazines’ in 2011) are planning an alternative look at global travel, with iPad-only releases under the brand names of Lonely Planet and Top Gear.

Both apps are priced at £3.99, the downloads are based around the self-titled magazines of the respective brands, with the Top Gear Portfolio app reviewing possible places for a reader to take ‘…an automotive trip around the planet’. Photos of exotic cars and locations, as produced by Top Gear Magazine, will be featured in the release.

Meanwhile, the Lonely Planet Dream Trips app offers a look at 9 ‘top trips’, under a collection of travel tips from insiders and expert knowledge via the staff of Lonely Planet Magazine. Included in the app of the better-known travel service are exclusive photos and interactive maps (via Google Maps) to locate key places on a trip to the featured area.

Immediate Media Co. are responsible for publishing the magazine versions of Top Gear and Lonely Planet on the behalf of BBC Worldwide after a recent buy-out of the BBC Magazines division. It seems as though they are getting straight to work on creating an interactive experience, with plans for similar apps (for non-travel related magazines) later in the year.

Immediate Media’s mobile services publishing director Rebekah Billingsley said of the move: “These apps are a great example of our digital ambition and creativity. Dream Trips is the first ever Lonely Planet magazine app and is perfectly suited for the tablet – the sumptuous high definition photography is enhanced by the iPad’s back-lit screen.”

With Google attempting to rival major social networking sites such as Facebook with their Google+ service, it was only a matter of time before Google would attempt to bring self-produced integrated features such as games into the mix.

While Facebook has Farmville, the biggest name in the Google+ library of games could be a currently un-named project that will integrate elements of Google Maps and tilt-based ‘ball’ movement similar to the physical ‘don’t fall in the holes’ games.

However, Google’s effort is not based around wooden mazes, rather a digital ‘cube’ with each side seemingly part of a map chosen by the user (the game has a tagline of “Play your world, like never before”), with integration with selected indoor locations as part of game missions.

The project is set to be fully unveiled (and released) in February, though a teaser trailer has been released to give a taster of what is to come. Will the Google Maps Cube be one of 2012’s best-known browser games?

While much of the world’s general sporting focus this year will fall towards the 2012 Olympic Games in London (England) starting in July, there is an event happening even sooner under the Olympic name, with the first-ever Winter Youth Olympics beginning tomorrow in Innsbruck (Austria), with the opening ceremony at the Bergiselschanze ski jumping venue.

Lasting for 10 days (13-22 January), the festival of winter sports will showcase over 1,000 young athletes (between the ages 14-19) coming together to take part for prestigious medals in their respective disciplines (with 63 events scheduled) whilst representing their nation, of which there are 70 (from all 6 continents (and all 5 ‘IOC regions’))taking part in this inaugural event (including small parties from unfancied ‘tropical nations’ such as Eritrea, India, Cyprus, and Cayman Islands).

Set to run every four years like other Olympic events (with the 2016 edition already scheduled to be hosted by Lillehammer (Norway)), the Winter Youth Olympics is part of a fairly new incentive by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to introduce Youth versions of their prized sporting festivals, following on from 2010’s inaugural [Summer] Youth Olympics (in Singapore City (Singapore)).

IOC President Jaques Rogge said recently of the upcoming Winter Youth Olympics: “You will not only see the next generation of international winter sports stars, but you will also experience some great innovations and new formats that have never before featured in an Olympic sports programme.”

With countless delegates, officials, and spectators also making the journey to Austria, Innsbruck (which hosted the 1964 & 1976 Winter Olympics) will be set for a week of added tourist influx, and are probably hoping to quell some of the potential travel chaos by offering on the official event website a map of the city and its surrounding areas.

The map features, amongst other things, an overlay of the sporting venues being used, important Winter Youth Olympic Locations, and bus routes to the out-of-city venues for ‘hill’ events. Also provided is local up-to-date information on local matters such as weather, a feature that is naturally critical for many winter sports to go ahead.

While the service is naturally not at the level of quality provided by big-name mappers, will it accomplish the Olympic-guide goals that it has set out to achieve, and will the event as a whole be a notable one?

Google are seemingly getting a track record for accidentally ‘removing’ places from their maps, with Limerick (Ireland) the latest to complain.

The problems have arisen from the fact that Ireland’s 4th-largest city could not be found on the initial overview of the country on Google Maps, with the name ‘Limerick’ only found on select view levels, whilst major cities (and some smaller ones) appear throughout.

The oversight is slightly surprising given Google have a European headquarters in the Irish capital of Dublin, and local politician Niall Collins [TD] was nonetheless angered by Google’s mistake, stating: “The oversight is detrimental to both local tourism and to the economic development of the region. Google Maps is becoming increasingly popular and to think that one of Ireland’s largest population centres is not featured on the main maps is simply not good enough.”

As mentioned above, Limerick does still feature on Google Maps, and while it may not be as clearly defined as its residents would like, it could be considered a rather swift over-reaction from the residents of the city, which shares its name with a form of poetry.

A Google spokesperson said of the matter: “Limerick is very much on the map – available on Google Maps, Google Earth and also in street view. We are always open to feedback and looking to improve the data in all zoom levels of Google Maps.”

The Google Maps for Android service is currently developing on their ‘indoor mapping’ updates first introduced in November by creating an integrated floorplan that might be relevant for approximately one week (at the most).

Held annually in Las Vegas (USA), the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) attracts a who’s-who of the technology industry from across America and the world, and having been run since 1967 in various guises, the show has come to prominence in recent years, with the show giving the world first glimpses of new products such as HDTV, the Xbox, and Blu-Ray, while past successes have included the CD and the video game Pong.

While CES is not open to public viewing, the convention will still attract up to 140,000 attendees in its 4-day run (10-13 January), and with a large number of people exploring a large number of stands, Google decided that it would be a good move to integrate a CES map of the Las Vegas Convention Centre, even if the two-floor system (which includes a ‘directions’ service) will display something that will no longer exist as of Saturday.

While CES 2012 is set to be notable for Microsoft’s final ‘presentation’ appearance at the event (likely to move to an observer status in future years), will Google’s interactive mapping of the show’s building become as popular as the new developments being displayed inside, and will it signal an intention for the mapping giant to create more temporary overviews?