Digital maps on the internet are offering residents a convenient way of finding daily life information for work and leisure.
A detailed location of public facilities, including leisure and recreational spots and other useful land-based information, is only one click away in the websites the Survey and Mapping Office provides as part of its improvement initiative.
People can simply search for street and building names, addresses, places of interest such as shops and restaurants or property listings. Census statistics and photographs of scenic spots are also available online. The breakthrough was made in 1999 when the mapping office collaborated with its business partners, Centaline Property Agency and PCCW Directories, to launch two internet mapping platforms under its Mapping Information Services through the Internet (MISI) scheme.
The office supplies up-to-date bilingual digital map data, address references and public services while each business partner builds a website to deliver the maps and other add-on information to the public online.
The joint ventures enable flexible and quicker adoption of new technology to improve on the provision of seamless map services. Centaline and PCCW Directories also use their business and marketing expertise to respond to market needs.
Simon Cheung Yick-wai, managing director of Centamap, which is a Centaline subsidiary, says the internet mapping platform provides a convenient and efficient service to easily access information.