Brand New Google Maps API v3

Brand New Google Maps API v3 (in Labs)

Just released... and its even faster....lots of code changes...

"Welcome to the release of version 3 of the Google Maps API. This JavaScript API will look similar to the existing version 2 of the Google Maps API. However, much has changed under the hood: Version 3 (called V3 within this document) has been designed to load fast, especially on mobile browsers such as Android-based devices and the iPhone™. The initial launch has a smaller feature set than that available in the V2 API. We will migrate additional features from V2 while working to keep the size of the JavaScript code small and maintain our optimized loading speeds. We welcome your feedback and comments on this version of the Google Maps API within the Google Maps API V3 discussion group."

Major Changes:

• No API keys required! so can embed in RSS readers

• Geocoding API has been overhauled!

• Model–view–controller (MVC) based - so faster downloading javascript!

• New API Group (V3)

example of code changes:

function initialize() {
var myOptions = {
zoom: 4,
center: new google.maps.LatLng(-33, 151),
navigationControl = false,
scaleControl: true,
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
}
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map_canvas"),
                             myOptions);

More Information:
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/v3/
Official Blog Post:
http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2009/05/announcing-google-maps-api-v3.html