KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 15 — Google announced of a few updates that lets everyone contribute to Google Maps. They hope that the community-led additions “will help make sharing and finding local recommendations and information easier”.

“To make sure your map reflects the real world, we make it easy for anyone with a Google account to contribute their local knowledge about more than 200 million places in Google Maps. These community-led updates help people everywhere make better decisions about what to do and where to go,” wrote Kevin Reece, Google Maps’ Director of Product.

Google Maps’ most exciting feature is that users are now allowed to add new or missing roads. All you need is to go to google.com.my/maps on your desktop, click the menu on the top left corner, pick “edit the map”, and then select “missing road” among the list of options you can do.

Google Maps shows us that you can actually draw in a new road after pressing “missing road” like in this video. But in my own experience, while i can still report a missing road it wouldn’t let me get as detailed. I can, however, then find the road I want to report on the map, and click on it to drop a pin. I was then able to write the name of the road along with a note about the road itself.

You’re also able to fix an address or fix where it appears on the map, add a missing place, fix wrong information and share feedback. Google also mentions that they would “vet” the road updates before publishing them to make sure the suggestions and edits are accurate.

In the coming weeks, Google will also roll out photo updates — where you can share more information about a place like if a restaurant’s outdoor dining area is shaded on hot days, or how crowded a parking lot for a popular hiking trail can get on the weekends. Usually, you’re only able to share something if you review the place.

In February, Google Maps introduced a useful new feature for their Street View mode —the split-screen. It lets you view locations through Street View and look at the map at the same time, which can help you navigate directions better. — SoyaCincau