OpenStreetMap surpasses 100,000 registered user accounts

The OpenStreentMap Project has announced that it now has more than 100,000 registered users. The project, run by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, is an open source project that is building free online maps, not based on any copyright or licensed map data. The project was started in August of 2004 and has become increasingly popular.

Recently the group completed the digital remapping of the English city of Birmingham, adding it to the likes of Paris, Berlin, Canberra and Vienna. The work is carried out by mapping enthusiast volunteers from all around the world, who have already mapped about 14 million miles of road.

Not long ago the project started fund raising for the purpose of buying new servers. With the help of a large donation from Google they raised over £15,500 last month, a full £5,500 over their original goal. The new servers were needed for a new API database server and peripheral hardware, as the current equipment could not handle the increasing demands on the service.

"Four years ago when this project was created we were looking at a blank screen and most commentators thought we were crazy." said Andy Robinson, secretary of the OpenStreetMap Foundation.

Users interested in joining OpenStreetMap can create a new account to start contributing. More details can be found in the OpenStreetMap beginners' guide.

See also:

• A new twist proposed for OpenStreetMap: Fedora Geo Spin, a report from The H.
• French grant OpenStreetMap access to land registry data, a report from The H.

(crve)