Google opens location-tracking service Latitude to online viewers

LONDON - Google's Latitude service, which allows mobile phone users to share their location with friends, is expanding the tracking service to let people show their location to anyone online.



Google is trialling Google Talk location status, which automatically updates users' Google Talk or Gmail chat status message with their most recent city location.
The service automatically updates their status message with their current city's name as they move.
But the city location is shared with all Google Talk or Gmail Chat contacts even if the user hides from some of them in Google Latitude.
Going a step further, the new Google Public Location Badge lets users publish their Latitude location on their blog or website. Google can automatically detect their location using GPS, Wi-Fi, or cell tower ID, which provides a specific location.
If enabled, the user's location will be publicly available to everyone online.

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