Google Maps powers world's biggest game of Monopoly

A new online version of the board game Monopoly - based on Google Maps - is being launched today.

Monopoly City Streets will use Google Maps or the open-source Open Street Map as the game board. Instead of snapping up old haunts such as the Old Kent Road, The Water Works and Mayfair, the massively multiplayer game will allow people to buy almost "any street in the world".

Players are given £3 million in cash to buy up their virtual empire, with the goal (as always) to become the richest property magnate in the game. The game is free, and will run for four months.

The game was designed by Hasbro's digital agency, Tribal DDB, although the company admits it had a helping hand from the search giant.

"Have Google helped us? Of course, they've been great and have really gotten behind the project with all the support we needed," the company claims on the Monopoly City Streets blog. "Who else has helped us? The project was made possible by using the street data from OpenStreetMap, combined with Google Maps, API tastic!"

The company is also inviting players to design their own buildings for Monopoly City Streets, using Google's SketchUp service.

Monopoly City Streets is due to go live at 6pm this evening.

ANI