Google on Tuesday rolled out personalized search to users who have opted to forego privacy concerns and have the company save records of their search history. With the new tool, Google will filter searches to predict which results might be most relevant to the user. In addition to increased personalization, Google made other significant steps toward becoming a portal like competitors Yahoo and MSN by expanding its mapping and multimedia offerings. Google Earth, a mapping application now available free of charge, has three-dimensional models of major U.S. cities. It also identifies local businesses and points of interest from Google Local. A satellite zoom function takes users from planet to street level. For $20, Google Earth Plus has GPS integration, higher resolution printing, and annotation. For $400, professional users can get further customization. All three products are based on technology that originated at Keyhole, a startup that Google bought last October for an undisclosed amount. The latest releases followed Monday’s announcement of Google’s own video player, based on the open-source cross-platform media player VLC. The player includes an attempt at keyword search in video. The move was praised by open-source advocates, including the Participatory Culture Foundation (PCF), which also uses VLC. “Internet TV has been held back by proprietary battles over codecs [video compression formatting] and delivery,” said Tiffiniy Cheng of the PCF, who predicted that Google’s clout in the space would rapidly ramp up improvement to video players. Indeed, on Tuesday, a day after Google Video Viewer made its debut, it was widely reported that 21-year-old Norwegian hacker Jon Lech Johansen had modified the Google code to make it possible to watch any video, regardless of origin. More news @ http://www.internetweek.com/news/164903633 Thanks Sreeharsha BG