The Sydney Morning Herald reports “in the coming weeks Google will put logos for fast food chains, coffee shops, hotels and travel agents on its popular maps site.” A WebmasterWorld thread has one member asking if this is just going to be tested in Australia or in the US also. He said:

Google currently allows special icons in maps for advertisers. Here is a picture of my company’s paid map listing:

It seems as if this move would dramatically add more of these ads on the maps. The main question is, will they be relevant or distracting?

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.