Amazon A9 adds Internet mapping service

Amazon is the leader on the Internet when it comes to shopping online. However, they also have a search website in the form of A9, which is trying to provide customized searching ability to their users. The company has just enhanced the services available from A9 by adding an Internet mapping service that offers ground-level photos of streets in 22 cities of United States. With this addition, the search engine somewhat competes with the Google Earth, Yahoo! Maps and the Microsoft’s MSN Virtual Earth service.

A9.com is relying on a database of 35 million photographs and enhances its user base by taking away visitors from competing search engine services. The search engine is ranked at a low 27th amongst the web users and has less than 0.1% of the market share in the United States. This newly added mapping service enhances the photographs that Amazon included in its Yellow Pages guide launched earlier this year.

Using this newly added feature, visitors to the site will be able to view entire city blocks associated with a particular address. In addition, they can now stroll down virtual city streets, viewing shops, restaurants, and landmarks at multiple angles. A9 is providing images from cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (Manhattan), Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Udi Manber, A9’s CEO said in a statement about this feature edition on the search engine: “We’re making maps slightly less abstract and closer to the real world. With A9.com maps you can actually see pictures of where you’re going and places on the way there.”