MUMBAI: Google India will be conducting its first ever mapping competition in India with Mapathon 2013 with the aim of providing people with the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps of the country.

Mapathon 2013, which starts on 12 February and culminates on 25 March, is an India-wide mapping contest open to just about anybody who lives in India.

Google is inviting amateur mappers and mapping enthusiasts from all over the country to help create better maps for India by adding their knowledge of local places through Google Map Maker.

The top 1000 mappers participating in Mapathon stand a chance to win Android tablets, smartphones, gift vouchers and Google merchandise.

So how does it all work? Google Map Maker is an easy-to-use tool that allows users to add more detail to Google Maps through a few simple clicks. Using Google Map Maker, users can select a specific area on Google Maps and add new information based on the local knowledge or by referencing Google Maps satellite imagery.

With just another click, you can save and submit your input and once the submitted edit has been verified, the new information will be added to Google Maps.

Highlighting the USP of Google Map Maker, Google India Product Manager Jayanth Mysore says, “It has always been our endeavour at Google to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. One way we hope to achieve this is by mapping the world and what better way to do this than by asking users to map their neighbourhood.

"Google aims to provide better maps for India by building better maps for the users, by the users. What started off as an initiative by a few Google engineers is now used across the world and today, citizens across India can participate in this great project through Mapathon 2013.”

Google Map Maker was conceptualised in India more than four years ago, and ever since, it has provided a rich set of features for users to map with.