Google goes local

Google launched a beta (test version) of a new local search engine this week, which searches Google’s database of 4.3 billion Web pages and then cross-checks those results with Yellow Pages data to pinpoint the local resources you want to find. The result is a site that’s much more powerful than either Google or traditional Yellow Pages sites on their own. For example, say you want to find mosques in your town for a story. You can see where they are on a map, plus each of the results links to the mosque’s website, so you can quickly find not just phone numbers and addresses but information about the results.