Gorgeous new mashup alert: Use a Map.

Basically, find a spot on Google Maps, then save it as a short URL. A bit like tinyurl.com for places, you might think, except that this is just the beginning:

Give the map a user ID and password, so you can edit it. Then edit the accompanying description or map icon, add a photo gallery (!) or a link, fix the zoom level or map type, decide whether to allow comments and/or password-protect it (if you like).

We’re just getting going. Click on a button to see the view i Google Earth, embed the map on your site using the suppled HTML, email the map to friends, and — the tour de force — click anywhere else on the map to get directions to/from the placemark. Big deal? Sure, as you are just clicking on the map — the web app finds the nearest road and number, and then gets to work finding the route.

Impressive stuff — linking to Google Earth of course helps on this blog:-) (i just wish some of the services, like directions, had their own permalinked URLs, in case we want to link to those.)