In 2004,, under the auspices of University College, London, Open Street Map (OSM) was lauched with the lofty ambition of creating a world map that anyone could use and to which anyone could contribute.
A network of volunteers and enthusiasts works on the map to ensure that it remains dynamic and up to date. Growth is organic, unplanned and imperfect. Some areas are mapped in immense detail, others remain completely blank in spite of richness of culture and life on the ground. This uneveness follows the contours of prosperity and, as such much of the developing world is represented simply as empty space. Although projects are underway in some areas to begin to mitigate this situation. www.openstreetmap.org