I have this minor fetish for maps. Several of them are hung as posters in my cottage, and I’ve gotten quite a few somewhat rare maps as gifts over the years. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across map24.com, which has a fantastic mapping engine. While it seems a little less accurate than mapblast, the dynamic nature of the maps more than makes up for it, and it’s much faster at showing you adjacent regions of the area you’re looking at compared to other systems, plus it has the unique ability for you to plot your route directly on the maps. This last is the best feature – you can generate precise mileage estimates for everything from cross-state trips to your local jogging route.

Even if none of the above interests you, I’d still encourage even the casual browser to check out the site at least once. Among other things it’s a great example of a rich web app with a fantastic interface – the shape, one hopes, of things to come.

I should also note – you need Java on your system and functioning within your browser, and if the maps don’t appear to be dynamic to you, make sure to click on the ‘interactive’ link at the top if the interface.