If you want to measure the distance between two or more places, Google Maps can be pretty helpful.

One way to do that is to the "My Maps" tab, select "Distance Measurement Tool" from the sidebar and create a path on the map. You can add as many points as you want and if you make a mistake, there's an option to delete the last point.


In the "My Maps" tab, there's also the option to create personalized maps. Create a new map and add a line by clicking on the small icon from the map. After you define the path, you can change it by dragging one of the white rectangles placed on the path. The personalized map can be saved for future reference, printed, shared with others and embedded in your blog.


It's interesting to compare these distances with those obtained from driving directions. To customize the route, drag the blue line or add a new destination in the sidebar.


Google Earth offers similar ways to measure distances. In both Google Maps and Google Earth, "measuring is calculated using the lat/lon coordinates from point to point and does not consider elevation."

Only the distance measurement mapplet lets you choose between metric and English units of measures. The path from "My Maps" shows the total distance in miles, while the driving directions show the units of measures used in a country. </img> </img> </img> </img>