Yahoo goes drag-and-drop for mapping

Yahoo is expected to release on Thursday the public beta of its new Yahoo Maps service, which is designed to make maneuvering the map easier and allow users to quickly create multiple-point driving directions.
The upgraded Yahoo Maps is more tightly integrated with Yahoo Local, allowing users to quickly find, for instance, the locations of Mexican restaurants in a particular neighborhood by typing in things like 'best margarita' or 'outdoor seating' or other category types or descriptions.
In addition, users can now type in a business address and the service will display the business name, phone number, user rating and link to additional information.
The new service also aims to make it easy to map out driving directions with multiple stops, including the ability to drag-and-drop specific businesses into the route. The map is larger and includes a collapsible mini-map with a shadow box that can easily be dragged around to shift the neighborhood displayed in the larger map.
The service automatically stores frequently referenced destinations, which can also be set to automatically fill in a search box using a nickname. Users can click on the browser's 'back' button to see the previous map action, and the map can automatically be configured for a printing layout.
'The interface is cleaner and better' than before, said Greg Sterling, an analyst at The Kelsey Group. 'You can drag the map around without reloading it and the data changes as you drag it.' more @ ZDnet