Step into the map with the Street View grounding feature in Project Genie from @GoogleDeepmind and @GoogleLabs. Announced at I/O, this research prototype uses locations from @GoogleMaps Street View as a foundation, letting you generate and explore interactive, 360-degree virtual environments from just a text prompt or real-world starting place. Cool, right? But… How does it actually work? 🤔 As an experimental tool, Project Genie tackles the "blank space" problem (showing both what’s in front of the camera and behind it) by utilizing Street View data to realistically generate a 360-degree view of the location you selected as the starting point for your world to generate from. Worlds generated by Genie are far more dynamic and rich because they’re created frame-by-frame based on the world description and user actions. By predicting each subsequent frame, Genie is able to simulate what it looks like to swim across an ocean, or hike to the top of a peak, marking a massive shift in interactive media and simulation pipelines. What real-world place would you want to step into and explore?

Plan & visualize your next project in realtime with Nano Banana & connected apps in Gemini Live. Generate images based on what you show with your camera, find local shops on @GoogleMaps & more just by talking it out. Gemini Live is available to Gemini users globally at no cost.

Have you explored Project Genie yet? 🌎 We just launched a huge set of updates! You can now simulate worlds grounded in @GoogleMaps Street View, manage your creations in a new library, and share them externally. Let's dive in: 1️⃣ Street View Grounding: You can now generate worlds starting from real places! Just tap the Maps pin to choose a location in the US and you can pick a style like "Desert Sands" or "Ocean World." Describe your character, and Genie ties your starting location to real-world imagery. 2️⃣ Library: You can now store and organize your generated worlds. Easily explore past creations or remix your favorites to iterate on your ideas. 3️⃣ External sharing: You can now share your generated worlds. Anyone can watch a video preview of your world, and Ultra subscribers can explore or remix them. Check out a shared world here: ✨ And now, Project Genie is gradually rolling out to all eligible Google AI Ultra subscribers globally (18+). Jump in and start creating today!

Google Maps users in the United States will now see the name “Lake America” instead of “Lake Ontario,” the company said on Saturday, two days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order renaming the body of water amid an ongoing trade war with Canada.

Google Maps has changed the name of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ for users in the United States, following an executive order by President Trump. The change applies only to US map users and does not affect Canadian naming conventions