China on Tuesday officially launched a state sponsored mapping website aimed to offer an "authoritative, credible and unified" online mapping service.
The online service, called MAP WORLD, is overseen by the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) and can be accessed at www.tianditu.cn.
The bureau said in a statement that the website included the most comprehensive geographical data and information on China.
Global geographic data is accessible at the site, said SBSM vice director Min Yiren at a Tuesday press conference, adding that the data on China was "particularly detailed," covering towns and villages in China's extensive rural areas.
MAP WORLD has 11 million place names in it. Among them are some 120,000 points of interests including hotels, restaurants, retail businesses, government institutions, banks and roads.
People can use MAP WORLD, for instance, to find a hotel in Beijing near subways or bus stations and then plan a travel route by measuring the distance between the hotel and tourists sites like the Forbidden City, Min said.
According to him, there is no charge for using MAP WORLD's basic services, but services designed for corporate users will come with fees.
Tuesday's official version came out after revisions and improvements were made based on users' suggestions since the launch of the beta version last October.