Awesome: Google Maps now supports KML overlays! Just post a URL to a file in a Google Maps search box, and there it is. Here’s the new island in Tonga, as a Google Map.

Google Maps now also renders KML placemarks with images in popups, which means you can use Google Maps to view georeferenced Picasa photos that have been exported as a self-contained KMZ file to your desktop and then uploaded to a server (or Google Pages). That’s still more convoluted than uploading georeferenced photos directly to Picasa Web Albums and getting a Google Maps link built in, but it’s a good step in the right direction.

Finally, there is also support for custom icons in a KMZ file. (Via James Fee)